ROGER FEDERER WASTES NO TIME JOINING RAFAEL NADAL IN BASEL SECOND ROUND OF THE SWISS INDOOR TENNIS, “R.F.” WINS IN 55 MINUTES BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 27th October 2015

ROGER FEDERER WASTES NO TIME JOINING RAFAEL NADAL IN BASEL SECOND ROUND OF THE SWISS INDOOR TENNIS, "R.F." WINS IN 55 MINUTES BY RICKY DIMON

epa04998890 Switzerland's Roger Federer returns a ball to Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin during their first round match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 26 October 2015. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS |

Roger Federer kicked off his bid for a seventh title at the Swiss Indoors Basel by cruising past Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2 in a mere 55 minutes. Federer won the first five games of the match and did not drop serve the entire way.

The 34-year-old Swiss is now 57-9 lifetime at the tournament and is riding a streak of nine consecutive final appearances.

Rafael Nadal had a much more difficult time at the office one day earlier, when he overcame Lukas Rosol 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4). Rosol came within two points of victory while serving for a straight-set win at 6-1, 5-4, 30-0. That however, is when the Czech’s collapse began.

Nadal reeled off seven straight games en route to a 3-0 lead in the third before Rosol finally righted the ship. The underdog broke back and forced a final-set tiebreaker but once again struggled when ahead. A 4-2 advantage for Rosol was swiftly wiped away when Nadal won the last five points of the match.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol during their first round match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 26 October 2015. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

“It was a very tough match emotionally,” Basel’s No. 3 assured. “At the same time, it’s a great victory. It’s important for me to have these kinds of comebacks. I’ve been in these situations more times than I would like this year, so I’m happy to win a match like this.”

The most recent chapter in the contentious Nadal vs. Rosol had just about everything.

Controversy started when Rosol complained that Nadal was taking too long after a changeover before the Czech served. Chair umpire Ali Nili would have none of it, informing Rosol that players have 30 seconds after time is called and that “the game hasn’t even started.”

Rosol banged his shoes and tapped the ground “every point” (according to Nili) before Nadal’s serves, prompting the Spaniard to complain late in the third set.

In his post-match press conference, Nadal was asked about Rosol’s antics.

“Well, everybody knows that I was playing against a player who is…….just himself. That’s it. I don’t want to talk more than what I need, but everybody knows him on tour.”

Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers when they collide on Wednesday night.

The head-to-head series stands at 6-0 in favor of the Spaniard, including 3-0 on hard courts. Only their first-ever meeting came indoors, with the Spaniard surviving 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 at the 2009 Rotterdam event. Dimitrov took a set in each of their first four encounters, but Nadal blitzed through the last two. The current world No. 7 cruised 6-2, 6-2 last year in the Rome semifinals and 6-3, 6-4 earlier this season in the Madrid quarters.

Not unlike his opponent, Dimitrov will take a win any way he can get it these days. The 28th-ranked Bulgarian pocketed a refreshingly routine one on Tuesday, easing past Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-4 without facing a single break point. Dimitrov is 31-20 for what has been a rough 2015 campaign and he is a similarly mediocre 5-4 since the start of the U.S. Open.

Editors Note : Papa Robbie Federer came thru again too. His 2016 calendar is awesome. Order yours today thru the Roger Federer Foundation.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, Basel tennis, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Lukas Rosol, Mikhail Kukushkin, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Swiss Indoors Basel, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

October 27, 2015 at 12:57 pm

-@rogerfederer Wastes No Time Joining @RafaelNadal In #Basel Second Round Of The #SwissIndoors #Tennis By @Dimonator https://t.co/cZNgQr52dP
Dimonator says:

October 27, 2015 at 10:41 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer Wastes No Time Joining @RafaelNadal In #Basel Second Round Of The #SwissIndoors #Tennis By @Dimonator http…