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ROGER FEDERER

Federer eases through first round in hometown

Roger Federer charged past his first hurdle in the quest for a seventh title at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Tuesday, with the top seed delivering a crushing 6-1, 6-2 lesson to Mikhail Kukushkin.

Published: 27 October 2015 20:19 CET

Federer eases through first round in hometown

Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

The first-round demolition in front of an appreciative home public at the event where the 17-time Grand Slam winner got his start in the game as a ballboy took only 54 minutes.

The 2014 finalist David Goffin of Belgium, hammered by Federer in less than an hour a year ago in the title match, won his opening match as he beat Italian Andreas Seppi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The fourth-ranked Federer was rock solid in his first match since an opening loss a fortnight ago in Shanghai.

The Swiss is seeking his tenth straight finals appearance at Basel.

He last beat his 64th-ranked Kazakh opponent in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Geneva a year ago.

Federer said he knew that he would be facing a tough customer in Kukushkin.

“I was seeing the ball as big as a melon,” said the 34-year-old, who has five titles this season.

“I knew that I had to stay with him in the first set as he would be looking for a fast start,” the Basel native said.

“That was my main strategy, to keep him under control,” he said.

Federer said he knew the second set would go easier.

“I'm very happy with this performance, especially to advance so well here at home,” he said.

“He was trying to give me a game I don't like but I was able to counter that.

“This was a very good start for me, an enjoyable match.”

Grigor Dimitrov began erasing a run of recent poor form as the Bulgarian beat Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round.

German Philipp Kohlschreiber, meantime, put out Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

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Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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