Tournament Director Roger Brennwald presented the 30-year-old Swiss with a trophy bearing the names of the different nominees in the shape of the number one. Federer received 78.5 per cent of the 40,000 votes cast in the online poll, far outdistancing 2009 champion Novak Djokovic, who finished second with 3,233 votes
“Obviously everyone knows how much the tournament here in Basel means to me,” said Federer, a four-time champion at this ATP World Tour 500 tournament. “There’s a big voting going on here in Switzerland for this award. I haven’t seen so many people vote for a sporting award in a very long time. I’m happy so many people took part in it.
“That I was able to get the award was maybe not the biggest surprise because I’m the record holder of titles here in Basel after all and I am from here, so it was a bit of a home court advantage, but still it’s nice to go out and greet the Swiss fans. Roger Brennwald did a really good job. It was very emotional and very nice.”
Federer will be going for his 40th match win in Basel when he plays Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen in the second round. He has reached the final seven times, including the past five years.
Date: 02.11.2011, Source: ATP
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