Federer Defeats Bellucci in Opener at Swiss Indoors Basel
October 24, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Top-seeded Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Wednesday, with a 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-5 win over Thomaz Bellucci. Federer won 77 percent of his service points and converted a late break in the deciding set for the win in just over two hours. Federer is seeking his seventh tour-level trophy of the season, highlighted by his finals win at Wimbledon and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns in Indian Wells, Madrid and Cincinnati.
Also in round one, Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro improved to 58-14 on the season after he defeated Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-4, 6-1 in 86 minutes. Competing in Basel for the first time since 2008, del Potro won his third ATP World Tour title of the year on Sunday at the Erste Bank Open final in Vienna. Paul-Henri Mathieu reached the second round when he beat fellow wild card entry Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland 6-2, 7-5; Australian Marinko Matosevic upset seventh-seeded Florian Mayer of Germany 6-2, 6-3; and Benoit Paire defeated Andreas Seppi from Italy, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
