BASEL, Switzerland: Roger Federer has played down rattling off wins in the season’s closing three events as he did last year after reaching the second round of his home Swiss Indoors.
The five-time and top seed opened at the St Jakobshalle with a straight-sets win over German Benjamin Becker on Monday night and was yesterday awaiting an opponent from Japan’s Go Soeda and Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.
The world number one concluded last season in a victory sprint, winning Basel, the Paris Masters and the year-end World Tour Finals in London on the trot.
But past results are no predictor of future success.
For one thing, the rest week between the end of Paris Bercy and the start of the eight-man season-wrap up has been eliminated as the ATP compressed the calendar to gain two weeks of off-season.
That means that Federer will make a late decision on his Paris participation after his Basel run is over. “It all depends on how tough and how much you play, how the scheduling is, who are the opponents, and then maybe get a chance to get on a run,” said the holder of 76 career titles who leads the ATP on six in 2012.
“It should not be my goal now to try and win all three again. The first goal is to see how I play here and take it from there.
“I have to think day by day. It’s simple, it’s pretty routine, but it’s my only way to handle these next couple of crazy weeks.”
AFP
