Federer Faces Stiff Home Test at ATP Basel Swiss Indoors; Preview

Shapovalov through!
Nailbiter scoreline. But every victory on the main tour is huge for him. And this was a solid top-50 player; if Shapovalov is a legit top 50 threat to start 2018, that’s a great place to be.

Fed has a real tough first rounder. tiafoe plays great against him, and has almost knocked him out twice. Fed has a really interesting line-up of opponents, hope to see him next Sunday.

October 23rd, 2017 at 3:19 pm

I’ve got a few predictions up for Basel at http://tennisabides.com

October 24th, 2017 at 12:06 am

Volleying masterclass by Fed so far. Broke Francis 2 times already to lead 3-0 . :)

October 24th, 2017 at 1:27 pm

jatin,
Could not watch the match but saw the scores. Looks like he took care of business! Hope it continues!

October 24th, 2017 at 2:36 pm

Fed got it done in 1 hours, he willed at least 3 more matches like these this week in next 4 if he is to win the title rested as he can be. Than he can make a move in Paris, which is a tourney usually have the field is spent and thinking on break.

Fed otoh is more rested than most and if he wins Basel without a 3 setter without much energy spent he ca do it, win Paris.

Than #1 will be decided in WTF.

If Fed eneter WTF least than 500 points away from Nadal (title Basel, title Paris) and Nadal losing R32 Paris, than it would be on Fed’s racquet.If he wins WTF without losing a match including beating Nadal in finals (if Nadal gets there undefeated) Fed would be #1.

It’s a long shot and assume Nadal won’t win a match in Paris is too much. Most likely Nadal will never WTF with the upper hand knowing how many points he will need. But any surprise lost in RR can make things interesting.

Right now Fed needs to take care of his business. First step put of 3, Keep winning in Basel and have a shot at the title.

October 24th, 2017 at 2:55 pm

Watch some highlights and Fed’s FH was on fire.

October 24th, 2017 at 3:13 pm

@Daniel: yes, Federer put on a clinic against Tiafoe. Home crowd, ideal conditions for him, and no doubt he was looking to make a statement after their close encounter at the USO a couple months ago.

Fed is 8-0 against the field until the semis, so if his form holds, I agree he should be able to make a run at the title and still be reasonably fresh. As we’ve seen, though, it’s all about how he’s feeling after the tournament and whether he thinks there’s enough in the tank to push for Paris.

I think Fed’s biggest dilemma at the moment is that Paris is (maybe?) his worst indoor tournament. I don’t have every stat, but I know he’s gone 21-10 there over his career, which looks like an outlier compared to other indoor tourneys (Basel, 61-9; WTF, 51-12). Relatively slower court and maybe just not well-timed for his own schedule in years past, so the last thing he would want is to play it, get stuck grinding some matches out, and then not win.

October 24th, 2017 at 5:52 pm