BASEL, Switzerland — Roger Federer needed ten aces and a fighting
finish in a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen which
secured his place in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors on
Wednesday.
Out of action for six weeks, the Swiss third seed was
tested for the first time by his longtime rival in a series which began
in 2002. Since they began in Moscow nine years ago, Federer had won all
11 matches in straight sets.
Fellow 30-year-old Niemimen, a
finalist two weeks ago in Stockholm, achieved a personal goal as he
finally won a set off the Swiss, taking the second with two breaks of
Federer's serve and despite double-faults on two of four set points.
It
took a big effort in the third set for 16-time grand slam winner
Federer to re-establish control. But he still needed three match points
to end with a cross-court winner after just over 90 minutes.
"I'm
really happy to go through, said Federer, the four-time tournament
champion and holder. "The second set was really tough and Jarkko played
very well.
"He was also great at the end of the third (set). I
found it tough to get my rhythm, it's a result of not playing for six
weeks. To stay at your highest level you have to play consistently and I
didn't manage to do that all the time today."
Federer's
hard-fought victory took him to 26 wins from his last 27 matches in
Basel, where his only loss in that period came in the 2009 final to
Novak Djokovic.
Federer is without a title since the first week in
January and is hoping for a big season finish this week, next week in
Paris and at the eight-man season wrapup in London from November 20.
The
field of leading seeds was reduced to Federer and Serbia's number one
Djokovic as second seed Andy Murray withdrew with a right buttock muscle
strain.
AFP
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