2015 Swiss Indoors Basel: Roger Federer not too complacent at hometown tournament
Roger Federer is back in his hometown for this week’s Swiss Indoors Basel. Even though Federer holds the record for the most number of wins in the tournament, the Swiss tennis maestro isn’t feeling too complacent going into the ATP World Tour Masters 500 event.
Speaking ahead of his first-round match against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, the 34-year-old was asked if he feels the “most relaxed” going into the 46th edition of the tournament. According to Federer, who is bidding for a seventh title in Basel, he wished he could feel more at ease.
“I’m not the most relaxed here in Basel, there’s so many things going on. I feel like I want to be everywhere, but I just can’t be, so I feel guilty to some extent, but not in a bad way,” the 17-time grand slam champion said, ATPWorldTour.com reports. “You know it’s nice if the tournament would be two to three weeks like in a slam but it’s not, so it’s intense it’s busy, but of course, I love it.”
In a way, Federer reportedly feels “relaxed” because of the experiences he had from playing in his hometown. He added that he is also surrounded by great memories from the tournament. According to Federer, the tennis event brings about thoughts when he was still a ball boy. He said he also remembers when he lost to Andre Agassi 6-3 6-2 in 1998, when he was awarded a wild card entry to the tournament.
This year marks Federer’s 16th appearance at the Swiss Indoors Basel. He enters the tournament with a 56-9 record. In last year’s final, Federer claimed his sixth Basel title against David Goffin, 6-2 6-2.
The first round action started Monday with third seed Rafael Nadal advancing after surviving a scare against Czech Lukas Rosol, 1-6 7-5 7-6(4). His compatriot Stan Wawrinka, No. 2 seed, will make his 12th appearance in Basel as he opens his campaign against Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday. The other top seeds are Kevin Anderson (No. 4), Richard Gasquet (No. 5), John Isner (No. 6), Marin Cilic (No. 7) and Goffin (No. 8).
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