From way out of court, Jack Sock produces a piece of brilliance against John Isner. Watch hot shot. And watch live matches at TennisTV.com
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Dominic Thiem and Richard Gasquet play out one of the points of the year in Basel. Watch live matches at TennisTV.com
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Rafael Nadal remained perfect against Grigor Dimitrov on Wednesday, outplaying the Bulgarian for the seventh straight time at the Swiss Open Basel 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
The highly anticipated second-round match-up between the former Basel quarter-finalists saw the 24-year-old Dimitrov get out of the blocks in a hurry, breaking his No. 3-seeded opponent to open the match. But Nadal would equalise with a break in the eighth game, reeling off nine of 12 points to level the set at 4-all when a Dimitrov transition volley failed to clear the net. Nadal would subsequently consolidate; then score yet another service break to clinch the first set. Dimitrov, still seeking his first title of the year and his first final since Stockholm in 2014, would amass 16 unforced errors in the stanza alone.
Having surrendered his foothold in the first set, Dimitrov came out with a renewed sense of urgency in the second, two breaks and a like number of holds giving him an early 4-0 edge before Nadal would get on the board.
It was deja vu as the No. 7-ranked Nadal was again broken to open up the decisive third set. But as he did earlier in the match, the 29-year-old would work his way back to knot the set at two games apiece. A tentative service game from Dimitrov at 3-4 would give Nadal his fifth and final break of the evening, and the Spaniard wouldn’t waste the opportunity, stepping up to serve out the match in two hours and 12 minutes.
“It was a positive match,” said Nadal. “I won against a tough player, coming back from a break down in the third. That’s important for my confidence.”
Nadal, who improved to 54-17 on the year, has shown some steely resolve in back-to-back matches, having rallied from 1-6, 3-5 down on Monday to defeat Lukas Rosol 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).
Dimitrov fell short in his pursuit of a fourth straight Basel quarter-final. He finished with 26 winners to 41 unforced errors.
Fourth seed Kevin Anderson served exceptionally well Wednesday to beat Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in one hour at the Swiss Indoors Basel. Anderson, who is now 45-22 on the season, won all 30 of his first service points and hit 29 winners to set up a second-round match against Donald Young.
Seventh seed Marin Cilic, buoyed by the confidence of winning his 14th title at Moscow last week, struck 14 aces and lost just four of his first-service points to beat Basel native and wild card Marco Chiudinelli 6-3, 7-6(3). The pair also met in the 2010 first round. Cilic goes on to face Teymuraz Gabashvili, a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victor over Leonardo Mayer, in the second round.
Jack Sock will look to improve on a 1-4 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against his fellow American John Isner after he beat another compatriot, lucky loser Denis Kudla, 6-4, 6-2 in 55 minutes.
No. 8 seed David Goffin scored a one-hour and nine-minute 6-4, 6-3 win over Adrian Mannarino. In doubles, No. 3 Jamie Murray/John Peers were 7-6(1), 4-6, 11-9 winners over Treat Huey/Henri Kontinen.
Ivo Karlovic accounted for second seed Stan Wawrinka in the first round. Read More
Grigor Dimitrov flicks a backhand lob for a winner against Rafael Nadal at the Swiss Indoors Basel.
Rafael Nadal improved to 7-0 in FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups with Grigor Dimitrov.
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Watch Wednesday’s Swiss Indoors Basel highlights as Rafael Nadal improves to a perfect 7-0 vs. Grigor Dimitrov.
Kevin Anderson shows some reach during his opening-round win over Borna Coric at the Swiss Indoors Basel.
And who could blame him. After all, the 24-year-old had just booked a second-round encounter with 27-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titlist Rafael Nadal, a seemingly indomitable force against whom he’s 0-6 in FedEx ATP Head2Head match-ups.
“I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s match,” said Dimitrov. “The excitement is building up.”
Dimitrov never faced a break point his his win over Stakhovsky on Tuesday, winning 25 first-serve points to go along with five aces.
Top seed Roger Federer began his quest for a seventh title at the Swiss Indoors Basel on Tuesday by beating Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes.
“I got off to a good start, which was a goal of mine,” said Federer, who was coming off an opening-round loss at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. “Once in the lead, I was able to stretch that and keep pressure on my opponent. I’m very pleased for a first round, especially after Shanghai.”
Federer raced into a 5-0 lead before wrapping up the 22-minute first set, then broke in the fifth and seventh games of the second set for his 54th match win of 2015. The Swiss lost seven of his first service points and saved two break points in the third game of the pair’s third meeting.
Federer, now with a 57-9 match record and 6-5 finals mark in Basel, will next challenge Philipp Kohlschreiber, who overcame 11 aces from Jerzy Janowicz in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
“Clearly, it was an important victory,” said Federer. “Losing today wouldn’t have been great for my confidence. I feel no effects from losing in Shanghai. I hope this match is a stepping stone to greater things this week. I’ve played so well over the years here in Basel.”
No. 5 seed Richard Gasquet remains in contention for one of two vacant spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals following a tight 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 first-round win over Jiri Vesely.
Gasquet needed two hours and 11 minutes to overcome the unseeded Czech, saving the only two break points he faced and winning 47 of 55 first-serve points (85 per cent). With Vesely serving to stay in the match down 4-5, 30-40 in the third set, he would surrender only his second break of the night at the most inopportune of times.
Gasquet must win the Basel title this week, then follow with another at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris to have any hope of being among the final eight in the Emirates ATP Race to London.
Earlier in the day, Grigor Dimitrov set up a second round clash against third seed Rafael Nadal after he defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-4. Nadal has a 6-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage against Dimitrov.
No. 6 seed John Isner exacted revenge for his Round of 16 loss to Ernests Gulbis last week in Vienna with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Latvian in 65 minutes. Isner fired 19 aces and won 90 per cent (28 of 31) his first-serve points. The 14th-ranked American would finish with 28 winners to 14 unforced errors. Gulbis, No. 82 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, finished with only eight winners to 20 unforced errors.
Eighth seed David Goffin recorded his 35th match win of the year by beating Andreas Seppi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours.