Federer rolls in hometown opener
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Basel, Switzerland (SportsNetwork.com) - Basel native Roger Federer pleased the home faithful with an easy opening-round win Monday at the $1.955 million Swiss Indoors tennis event.
The Swiss icon, who once served as a ball boy at this tournament, blew past France's Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-2 in 71 minutes at St. Jakobshalle.
Federer is a five-time Basel champion, with the his last title coming in 2011. He lost to fellow former U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro in last year's marquee finale.
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Slowed by back problems, the 32-year-old Federer hasn't reached a semifinal in his last four events on tour.
Also in round one, Ukrainian wild card Alexandr Dolgopolov bested Frenchman Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-4, German qualifier Tobias Kamke beat Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-4, 6-4, and Pole Lukasz Kubot handled Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
This week's top seeds are the reigning champion del Potro and former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych, who will battle 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic on Tuesday. Another Day-2 bout will pit fourth-seeded rising Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka against France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
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The 2013 Basel winner will earn $475,000.