Federer wins historic 5th Basel title

Roger captured a record fifth title in his hometown Basel today, defeating Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-3.

"It's great to win at home again," said Roger. "Kei put up a good fight,. I've known ever since I hit with him as a teenager that he could have a good future. He's had some injuries but he's playing well now. It was a good match and I'm very happy for the win. I’m feeling fit and ready for more. I am hungry and fired up and that is how you want to be at this stage of the season.”

“Next season will be packed with the Olympics, there will be a lot of tennis so I have to be prepared." said Federer.

Nishikori started strong on his own serve but Roger broke with three winners. He then dropped just one point in the opening set. Roger also raced through the second set and though Nishikori had come from a set down against Djokovic, our champ did not give him a chance of a comeback. He closed the match with his first matchball after one hour and 22 minutes.

Roger will now head to Paris for the last event of the ATP season -  the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy. After one week off, the ATP finals in London will end this year's season.

Date: 06.11.2011

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Roger books final spot

It took Roger 88 minutes to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(5), 6-2 in the semi-final in Basel tonight. He is now just one more win away from a fifth home title at the Swiss Indoors.

"It's always tough to play Stan," said Roger. "It's never easy. We know each other's game so well."

Roger took a quick lead, breaking Wawrinka in his second service game. Wawrinka fought back, though, taking the set into a tie-breaker. It was a bit of a scare at times, but our champ eventually won the tie-break 7-5. He left no doubts in the second set and wrapped up the match on his second match-ball.

Roger will face Kei Nishikori (ATP 32) in Sunday's final. The Japanese knocked Novak Djokovic out of the tournament today with an impressive performance.

Date: 05.11.2011, Source: RF Official

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Federer claims 41st win in Basel; Faces Wawrinka next

Four-time champion Roger Federer notched his 41st win at the Swiss Indoors Basel on Friday as he dismissed long-time rival Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 indoor event. Defeat for Roddick ended the American’s outside chances of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Hometown hero Federer broke serve in the eighth game of the first set, capitalising on a first serve percentage of 47 per cent from Roddick, to clinch the opener. He then raced through the second set with two breaks to clinch victory in 64 minutes. He improved to a 41-7 event record.

"We’ve played on so many occasions that sometimes you can’t play your best, and that’s what happened to Andy today," said Federer, who improved to a 21-2 career lead over Roddick. "He didn’t have a very good serving day and then once I get a chance to get into all his service games, it’s always going to be difficult for him to find a way."

Basel is the only non-Grand Slam event where Federer has won more than 40 matches. He won three successive titles from 2006-2008 and lifted the trophy for a fourth time last year with victory over Novak Djokovic; he has also finished runner-up on three occasions.

"It’s one of the highlights of the year for me to be playing here in Basel," said Federer. "I grew up here and spent over 20 years in this city. I know my way round, it feels very special and I see so many familiar faces when I look around the stadium.  My dream was to maybe play once in qualifying or on centre court, back in the day, now here I am playing and getting the best player of all time award here in Basel."

"This is the first time I’ve played Stan here in Switzerland," remarked Federer. "We’ve faced off together 10 times and playing back in Switzerland is particularly special because I come from this town and Stan’s not too far away either. I think it’s a special occasion for Swiss tennis and the Swiss fans. He played incredibly well today, so I think this is going to be the test of the tournament for me so far."

Date: 05.11.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer reaches quarterfinals

Roger Federer let slip his record of never losing a set (24-1) in 12 matches against Finn Jarkko Nieminen on Wednesday, when the third-seeded Swiss and four-time champion reached the Swiss Indoors Basel quarter-finals with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory in one hour and 36 minutes.

Federer looked in complete control when he won the first set in 24 minutes, hitting four aces and winning 75 per cent (12 of 16) of his service points. But Nieminen broke serve in the first and fifth games of the second set and despite a mini comeback by Federer, the World No. 66 kept his nerve. It was one-way traffic in the third set as 30-year-old Federer raced to a 3-0 lead and eventually sealed his 26th win in his past 27 matches at the ATP World Tour 500 indoor tennis tournament.

“He was obviously finding his range better, playing a bit better and getting better rhythm as the match went on since he’s a baseliner,” said the Swiss. “It was due to my ups and downs that he found a chance in the second set, but then I found my range again on the serve in the third set and was basically in control. It was still a good match, I thought, for me to come through and I had some very good moments. All in all I’m pretty pleased.”

Federer added 45 points to his South African Airways 2011 ATP Year-To-Date Ranking with the win over Nieminen and is now 1,950 points behind Andy Murray, who is bidding to finish the year as World No. 3. He has a 51-12 match record on the season, which includes one title at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (d. Davydenko).

Date: 03.11.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer named Basel's best

Roger Federer was honoured in front of his hometown crowd Tuesday, celebrated as the best player to ever compete at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

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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Federer opens hometown title bid

World No. 4 Roger Federer began his campaign for a fifth title at his hometown tournament, the Swiss Indoors Basel, with a 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Italian Potito Starace on Monday evening.

Starace held the only break point chance of the opening set, but was unable to capitalise. The third-seeded Federer won the tie-break and immediately broke his 54th-ranked opponent to start the second set. He claimed the victory after one hour and 18 minutes, improving to a 6-0 record against Starace.

Federer, who was playing his first match since representing Switzerland in the Davis Cup World Group play-offs against Australia in September, notched his 50th match win of 2011 - marking the 10th straight season he's reached that mark.

"Rust showed more on the returning side, trying to see the pace of the ball or being there and anticipating maybe was just missing a bit today," said Federer. "Instead of getting me 30-all chances, I was stuck at 40/15 very often and that’s a tough place to make breaks.

"In the second set I started to feel a bit better with confidence, first set in the pocket, but I still thought Potito played a good match and made me work extremely hard today."

He will go for his 40th match win in Basel (39-7 tournament record) when he plays either Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, a recent finalist in Stockholm, or Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in the second round. Federer has reached the final the past five years at this ATP World Tour 500 tournament, only failing to win the title in 2009 when he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic, the top seed this week.

Federer Focused On Strong Finish

“I don’t even know what it takes [to regain the No. 3 position],” admitted the 30-year-old Swiss, who has finished in the Top 2 for a record eight years. “My goal is trying to win when I’m playing the next few weeks.

“The focus right now is trying to play well here in Basel. The next round is my priority, but clearly after winning here, semis in Paris with match points and winning London, I know I can do extremely well. And if I’m three or four at the end of the year, we’ll see, but if I’m going to make a move I need to win tournaments and that’s what it’s going to take.”

Federer enters the final stretch of the season more than 2,000 points behind Andy Murray at No. 3 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Year-To-Date Rankings. Murray has been vocal about his goal of finishing in the year-end Top 3; he backed up his intention with a trio of titles during the Asian swing to overtake Federer in the leaderboard earlier this month.

The two players are both competing in Basel and at next week’s BNP Paribas Masters in Paris before concluding the season at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, where Federer is the returning champion. A total of 3,000 South African Airways ATP Rankings points will be up for grabs over that stretch.

“Expectations are great everywhere I go and play, but particularly here I want to do well and that’s why I was also slightly nervous going into my first round today,” he said. “Then obviously that’s all gone after two or three games, but I thought I did well today and I’m happy to be in the second round.”

Date:01.11.2011, Source: ATP

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Swiss Indoors: The Draw

The draw for the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Roger's home town, took place yesterday.

Our champ will play Potito Starace (ATP 50) in the first round on Monday. Roger has won all five matches against the Italian, the last one going back to the Davis Cup encounter in 2009. In the second round Roger will face the winner of the match between Thomaz Bellucci and Jarkko Nieminen. Our champ hasn't lost any of the 11 matches against Nieminen. He has never played Bellucci so far.

In the quarter-final Andy Roddick or Radek Stepanek could wait for Roger, before a possible duel with Andy Murray in the semis. In the end, a final against world number one Novak Djokovic is possible - which would certainly be an exciting event for Roger's home crowd.

Date: 30.10.2011, Source: RF Official

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Federer says 'Body is ready' for Basel

World No. 4 Roger Federer returns to his hometown of Basel next week to play his first tournament since falling in the semi-finals of the US Open to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The 30 year old helped Switzerland defeat Australia in the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs 2011 following his loss at Flushing Meadows. “It was nice to have some time off after the Davis Cup in Australia,” Federer said Saturday. “I felt like I had to get away a little bit and take care of a few things. Now my body is ready and I'm looking forward to this week in Basel.”

While the Swiss has secured his place at the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, he is looking to win his first title since triumphing at the start of the season in Doha (d. Davydenko). If there is a tournament where Federer can get back on track, it’s the Swiss Indoors Basel. Federer, who, as a child served as a ball boy at the event, has posted a 38-7 record, and fittingly became the first player to win four titles last year when he avenged his 2009 final loss to Djokovic. “This year is a bit different from last year when I had already played Shanghai and Stockholm before coming to Basel,” said Federer. “Now I'm starting the indoor swing here, which makes it a bit more difficult.”

Djokovic returns to contend for his second Basel title in his first event since winning the US Open Final against Rafael Nadal. The field also features third-ranked Andy Murray, who enters on the back of an Asian title hat-trick and a 15-match win streak, and London Finals contenders Tomas Berdych, Mardy Fish, Janko Tipsarevic and Andy Roddick. “The draw has always been very strong here and maybe this is even the strongest ever,” declared Federer. “You only have good players here.”

Federer, seeded third, will open his title campaign against Potito Starace and is in the bottom half of the draw with No. 2 seed Murray, sixth-seeded Tipsarevic, No. 7 seed Roddick and compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka. Djokovic’s half of the draw includes fourth seed Berdych, No. 5 seed Fish and eighth-seeded countryman Viktor Troicki.

Date: 30.10.2011, Source: ATP

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Roger Federer inaugurates locomotive in Basel

Tennis star Roger Federer uses the time before Swiss Indoors in Basel, a locomotive to baptize in his name.

A locomotive (type Re 460) the insurance Nationale Suisse and the SBB travels from today, with a picture of Roger Federer of Switzerland.

"I'm quite proud," says a cheerful Federer. He found the machine quite successfully. Previously he had been traveling on the train a lot, now it is more convenient because of the many luggage but to travel by plane or car to tournaments.

The action is not purely a PR stunt. Federer said in a video interview with Blick.ch: "57 for each Km Nationale Suisse pays ten francs in the Roger Federer Foundation. "

The Federer-Lok will inaugurate the new Gotthard tunnel - another solemn moment that will appreciate the impressive career of 16-time Grand Slam champion.

Date: 28.10.2011, Source: Blick

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Roger Federer’s long awaited comeback in Basel

Roger Federer is currently recovering from a couple of “niggles” brought on by the heavy workload during the American summer swing. Federer pulled out of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, a tournament he loves to play in front of his millions of loyal Chinese fans.

The World Number four reached the semi-final of the US Open in September where he lost to Novak Djokovic despite having had match points. Straight after the New York Grand Slam Federer travelled to Australia to represent his country in the Davis Cup World Group playoff. He ended up winning his two singles rubbers against Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic. The former world number one and his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka navigated their country back into the Davis Cup World Group.

The Swiss superstar is looking to win his second title this year in his hometown of Basel. A young Roger was once a ball boy at the Basel tournament. The Swiss Indoors have attracted some great stars over the years. Amongst the previous winners are Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Boris Becker, John McEnroe and Stefan Edberg.

Having won the tournament in 2006, ’07, ’08 and in ’10, it’s going to be hard for any player to stop the hometown hero from winning his fifth title here next week. The Fed Express is looking to lift his 68^th trophy at the end of the week.

Other top players confirmed for this year’s ATP World Tour 500 Swiss Indoors tournament are Novak Djokovic, Mardy Fish, Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, Andy Roddick, Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic and Switzerland’s number two ranked player Stanislas Wawrinka.

Federer has already qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour event in London in November. He will be joined at the O2 Arena in London by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and David Ferrer. Three spots are still to be filled.

His many fans around the world are looking forward to his return in Basel next week. Hopefully Roger Federer has got his niggles under control and will be able to play the planned end-of-year schedule – Swiss Indoors, Basel, BNP Paribas Masters and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Date: 26.10.2011, Source: 10SBalls

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