By Ricky Dimon
It has been a rough week for Americans in Basel, Valencia, and in Singapore. Steve Johnson lost his Swiss Indoors Basel opener to Milos Raonic 7-6(4), 6-4. John Isner and Stefan Kozlov, the only two USA representatives in the Valencia singles draw, lost in the first round. Even Serena Williams suffered a shocking 6-0, 6-2 defeat to Simona Halep at the women’s year-end championship.
On the bright side, Donald Young picked up a win on Tuesday by beating Carlos Berlocq 7-6(5), 6-4 during first-round action in Basel. Young won 26 of 29 first-serve points and broke his opponent three times. The world No. 69 will face Raonic on Thursday.
Results have been mixed for the host nation, with only Roger Federer still alive. Marco Chiudinelli lost a tough three-setter to Ivan Dodig on Tuesday and No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka was upset by Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3. Federer, on the other hand, had no trouble disposing of Gilles Muller 6-2, 6-1 in a mere 47 minutes.
“I am very happy with how the first round went here,” the five-time champion assured. “It was totally different to Shanghai, when I saved five match points. This time around, I was really in control from the get-go. I hope I can keep this level up.”
Federer will look to join Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals when he goes up against Denis Istomin on Thursday. Nadal is already through to the last eight, having made quick work of Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-1, 6-1.
Briefs
* Goffin stays hot with win over Dodig, could reach top 25 with semifinal.
* Istomin destroys Janowicz, but must upset Federer to reach top 60.
* Golubev gets the best of Gabashvili, will be top 60 with one more victory.
* Carreno Busta surprises Lopez, well into top 60 and possibly top 50.
* Robredo roasts Lu, virtually guarantees top 20 place.
* Berdych bounced by Andujar, but could still pass Ferrer for No. 5.
* Andujar’s upset of Berdych leaves him one win away from top 40.
* Bellucci takes out Youzhny, will soar into top 50.
* Youzhny’s title defense ends in round one, likely to fall 20 spots out of top 40.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.
Topics: Atp, Basel, Donald Young, John Isner, milos raonic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Singapore, Stan Wawrinka, Stefan Kozlov, Tennis, Valencia
#BASEL MEN’S #TENNIS UPDATE @rogerfederer TAKES OUT GILLES MULLER 6-2,6-1 IN 47 MINUTES- http://t.co/Auz6AFUmZw @DonaldYoungUSA #ATP
RT @10sBalls_com: #BASEL MEN’S #TENNIS UPDATE @rogerfederer TAKES OUT GILLES MULLER 6-2,6-1 IN 47 MINUTES- http://t.co/Auz6AFUmZw @DonaldYo…