Basel, Switzerland (Sports Network) - Hometown icon Roger Federer and
Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro highlighted Wednesday's winners at the
Swiss Indoors tennis event.
The world No. 1 and five-time champion Federer snuck past last week's Moscow
runner-up Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, in 2 hours, 3
minutes on the indoor hardcourts at St. Jakobshalle.
The Basel native Federer beat Japan's Kei Nishikori for a second straight and
fifth overall Basel title a year ago. The Swiss great also claimed
championships here from 2006-08 and was a Swiss Indoors runner-up in 2000,
2001 and 2009.
Federer's quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be Pole Lukasz Kubot or
Frenchman Benoit Paire, who ousted fifth-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi 4-6,
6-2, 6-3 in round one on Day 3.
Meanwhile, a second-seeded del Potro, fresh off his title last week in Vienna,
stayed hot with a 6-4, 6-1 opening-round victory over fellow South American
Alejandro Falla of Colombia.
Del Potro stunned Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final, but is a dismal 0-6
versus the Swiss legend this year.
Up next for "DelPo" will be American comeback kid Brian Baker on Thursday.
Also in the second round, third-seeded nifty Frenchman Richard Gasquet rolled
past Swiss wild card Marco Chiudinelli 6-1, 6-4 and talented Bulgarian Grigor
Dimitrov outlasted Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-3).
In some other first-round action, Aussie Marinko Matosevic erased seventh-
seeded German Florian Mayer 6-2, 6-3 and Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu handled
Swiss fellow wild card Henri Laaksonen 6-2, 7-5.
The 2012 winner of this $1.84 million event will earn $440,000.
The Sports Network