Roger Federer may have not have had an ideal second half of the year in 2018 but considering he is 37 and still able to compete at the top of the game he's a very happy man, especially when he can return home to enjoy the competition on home soil where it all began for him as a ball boy over 20 years ago.
Federer worked the courts in Basel for two years including in 1991 where he can be seen in the video below being given a medal by then winner Michael Stitch at the age of 12 years old. Who then was to know that one of the many ball boys would go on to become one of the greatest players the sport has ever know?
A Young Roger Federer Seen Handed a Medal by the 1991 Winner in the Basel ATP
What's more impressive is the fact that tonight he returns to the Swiss Indoor Basel ATP 500 to defend his title and go for an amazing 9th crown in 14 appearances. He already holds the record for winning Basel 8 times and making 11 consecutive final appearances. Not bad for an event he started in as a ball boy playing fetch on the courts for other pro players.
Cliches Don't Always Come True
Ignore the cliches that champions are born rather than made. Federer is a prime example of a champion made through hard work. This couldn't be more elucidated than in the Swiss Champ's own words when he spoke to the ATP World Tour on Monday saying that after losing in the final for a second time to Tim Henman in straight sets 3-0 in 2001 (first time he lost to Thomas Enqvist 3-2) he never thought he would get another opportunity to lift the trophy. You can understand why at the time Federer felt like this, being only 20 years of age Federer in 2001 had already been given two wild card entries prior to his two final appearances, where back in 1998 and 99 he first lost to Agassi in Round One 2-0 and then to Henman the next year in the Quarter Finals 2-0. Clearly early on in his career he was lacking the clinical consistency of today and had to work hard for his victories.
After Federer's two final appearances in 2000 and 2001 he went on to loose in the Semi Final in Basel to David Nalbandian in 2002 and experienced yet another first round defeat to Ivan Ljubicic in 2003. This must have left the 20 time Grand Slam winner deflated at time. Then after skipping two years of his home turf tournament in 2004, 2005 Federer would begin his journey to a remarkable 11 finals in a row winning 8 titles from them.
His Arch Nemesis is Not Who You Think
Perhaps Federer's most infamous rivalry at this indoor tournament is not against Novak Djokovic...nor Rafa Nadal but against 'The Tower' Juan Martin Del Potro who twice defeated the Swiss in the final in 2012 and 13 before Federer got his chance to exact revenge last year. Del Potro recorded two convincing wins against Federer at 2 sets to 1 on both occasions so when the 2017 final came around you could forgive even the most fanatical of Federer fan's doubting the Swiss could stop the Argentinian making it a hat trick of titles here against him. But when it came down to a third set this time it was Federer who broke ahead 4-2 and made no mistake about tieing up the set, match and tournament 6-3 whilst holding serve comfortable. It was yet another great final between the two.
Watch Federer Win the Basel Indoor Swiss ATP 500 Final vs Del Potro Last Year
So with 2 weeks to go for the Basel Indoor Open fans were eagerly anticipating yet another final match up with Del Potro (currently 4th in the world) and Federer (currently 3rd in the world). That would have been a fascinating affair given their earlier match this year in Indian Wells final where Del Potro won in yet another third set tie break to clinch the title. Unfortunately the Argentine who also missed the Laver Cup as Team World's number one player fractured his kneecap during the Shanghai Masters first round. Incredibly in that contest Del Potro still managed to get to the final with that injury showing just how strong and high spirited he has been as a player this year.
Del Potro's exit opens the door to a successful defense of the title and 500 ATP points for Federer. His most credible threats now are Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic - both are capable of giving the Swiss a tough game with the former enjoying 2 wins out of 5 against the Swiss including in last years Canada Masters. Zverev when on form is more than capable of taking out Federer so he poses a real threat to the Swiss Super Stars chances of retaining his beloved home title.
As for Federer considering he went out poorly in this month's Shanghai Masters to Borna Coric in straight sets he's got a lot of making up to do. In that semi final Federer disappointed fans with a mundane performance where he looked second best to Borna Coric for the majority of the match. Right now many sceptics just can't see Federer posing a threat to Nadal and Djokovic at the upcoming Paris Masters and London Finals. The only way for the king of grass to prove otherwise is with a flawless run to the final here and to ultimately recapture of his trophy.
Federer who will be somewhat happy to avoid a final with Novak Djokovic who is not in attendance here will be facing another Serbian in the first round tonight. Expect a straight sets victory against World Number 34 - Filip Krajinovic who has had a very average year including a sparse attendance of tournaments. It's not like Krajinovic doesn't possess talent but he's been out for most of the year with a foot injury meaning he's struggled to get regular match practice.
Federer who has already qualified for the London finals in late November and who will also be in the competition at the Paris Masters next week will be keen to blitz his way to the final without dropping a set to preserve himself for Paris where he could face Nadal and Djokovic. The Swiss Maestro will not want to get involved with too many close matches than sap his energy, instead he will be looking for a clinical series of matches that see him hold his title and 500 ATP points with little fuss.
I can see Federer getting to the final, but depending on how convincing he is on the way I am not certain whether it's a banker that he will defeat Zverev.
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