Raonic wins Basel opener

Published February 05, 2015

Basel, Switzerland (SportsNetwork.com) - Canadian star Milos Raonic was among Tuesday's opening-round winners at the $1.87 Swiss Indoors Basel tennis tournament.

The fourth-seeded Raonic got past American Steve Johnson 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on the hardcourts at St. Jakobshalle.

Another seeded victor on Day 2 was No. 8 Croat Ivo Karlovic, who topped Czech Lukas Rosol 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

Also on Tuesday, Croat Ivan Dodig outlasted Swiss wild card Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, German Benjamin Becker drubbed Portuguese qualifier Gastao Elias 6-3, 6-2, and France's Kenny De Schepper dismissed Argentine Federico Delbonis 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.

The top seed this week is Swiss icon, five-time champion, five-time runner- up, and Basel native Roger Federer.

Federer lost to Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro in the last two Basel title tilts and has appeared in the last eight finals in his hometown.

The 33-year-old Federer's opening-round opponent will be Luxembourg lefty Gilles Muller on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, second-seeded former No. 1 Rafael Nadal will take on French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert in a second-round affair.

The 2014 Basel champ will claim $450,000.

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