Roger Federer Aiming For His Sixth Basel Title

Written by: Staff on 22nd October 2012

Roger Federer Aiming For His Sixth Basel Title

epa03438623 Swiss Roger Federer speaks during a press conference in preparation of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the sports center Paradies in Allschwil, Switzerland, 19 October 2012. The Swiss Indoors are taking place from 20 to 28 October 2012 in Basle, Switzerland. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS |

Memories will come flooding back for Roger Federer as the world No. 1 plays again at his hometown event, the Swiss Indoors, bidding to win a sixth title in his own personal tennis stronghold.

The top seed got his start in the game as a ballboy nearly two decades ago and has never lost his love for the sport first developed in the St Jakobshalle in Basel. “I was a ball boy,” he recalled in the run-up to this year’s edition. As a result of that experince, Federer always takes time after the Basel final to share a pizza with the current crop of ball kids, a custom he has develpoed over the years.

But it was when he began actually playing that the significance of the venue really kicked in for him, “I remember my match against Andre Agassi (1998), which was obviously not a match I could win at the time, but I was happy to be on centre court.

“Basel has given me joy and pain. The most difficult time I had was the final against Enqvist (2000), I played a good match but he was amazing.

“When I lost, during the awards ceremony I began to see all black in front of me, I thought that I would never win a tournament. In 2006, against Fernando Gonzalez, I finally was able to realise my dream.”

In the interim that dream has become a huge reality, with Federer taking victory at five of the last six editions at the tournament.

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andre Agassi, Basel tennis news, Roger Federer, Sports, Swiss tennis news