Roger Federer returned with a bang following a sluggish start to get the better of Denis Istomin by 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round to win the Swiss Indoors at St Jakobshalle on Wednesday.
No doubt, the third seed as well as five-time champion at his hometown tournament thrilled a whopping 9,200 crowd with his fightback, which boosted his confidence for the chase to secure a place in the season-wrapup event in London next month.
Federer, who crashed into the quarter-finals and stands provisional seventh in the field, needs robust performance this week at home and next week at the Paris Masters to ensure his entry into the year-end event which he has already won 6 times.
Remarkably, the 32-year-old Swiss star advanced in less than two hours and recovered after losing the first set against the Uzbek visitor, further claimed the second to level. Particularly, Federer laid down a marker as he served for 1-1 in the final set. He won that in the eight-minute game following saving four break points.
From that onwards, the entire momentum shift was complete for the Swiss star, who managed to enter in the last eight, by firing a backhand winner on his first match point.
Federer commented that he stared poorly and made too many errors, mainly on the forehand. In fact, he was risking too much and that was not paying off.
On the other side, Juan Martin del Potro commenced his title defense in the first round with a defeat of Finland-born Swiss youngster Henri Laaksonen. However, the number 244 became a 6-4, 6-4 victim of the top seed.
Actually, Del Potro is improved his position after winning Tokyo and playing the Shanghai final. The winner, who has already qualified into the World Tour Finals year-end field opined that he played OK for the first match of the week.
Richard Gasquet of France placed himself in the danger zone for qualifying for London, as the hammered fifth seed lost by 6-4, 6-2 to compatriot Michael Llodra.
Anyway, the first-round defeat in 70 minutes still leaves behind Gasquet standing a provisional ninth spot in the points race. Gasquet, who lost in the Shanghai first round and further rebounded back by winning the Moscow title last weekend, agreed that he was running short of energy.
It cannot be ignored that Gasquet's Moscow success marked his third title of the season, just after Doha and Montpellier. In fact, he has earned his only Basel result of note last year when he arrived at the semi-finals against champion del Potro.
Paul-Henri Mathieu of France advanced to the second round as he banged Denis Kudla of America by 6-4, 7-5. Vasek Pospisil of Canada ultimately revenged for a loss last week as he sneaked past Robin Haase by 6-4, 6-4.