Former world's No.1 Roger Federer will try to continue his winning ways as he faces Uzbekistan's Dennis Istomin in the second round of the Swiss Indoors Open on Wednesday at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.
Federer punched his ticket to the second round of the Basel Open after blasting 25-year old Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 6-4, 6-2, in the opening round.
The 32-year-old Federer is fighting to stay in contention for the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London next month, leaving him with no room for error in this tournament.
"It's great be back in Basle, I get so much energy from this crowd," Federer said in the post-match interview on Monday via the Telegraph. "I'm concentrating on playing well and hoping to qualify for London."
The victory puts Federer in a testy second round battle with Istomin. The Uzbek earned his match against the man arguably dubbed as the greatest tennis player of all time following a second round 7-5, 7-6 victory over Horacio Zeballos.
Federer and Istomin already played each other four times with the Swiss tennis star winning all meetings. Their last duel took place at the 2013 Indian Wells Open, where Federer cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over istomin.
Prediction: Federer in Straight Sets
Although Istomin is very much capable of pulling off another upset, especially with Federer playing at the lowest point of his career, the Swiss star will still book his place in the third round of the Basel Open. He might be a victim of numerous early round upsets against several unheralded players this season, but Federer looked more relax and composed in his first round win against Mannarino.
His split with coach Paul Annacone might have given Federer a new purpose in his career and that doesn't bode well against Istomin in their upcoming match.
Juan Martin Del Potro To Kick Off Title Defense
Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro will be kicking off his title defense against Swiss entry Henri Laaksonen. Del Potro won last year's tourney after beating Federer 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 7-6(7-3) during a heart-stopping showdown in the final round.
Live Stream & Schedule
Del Potro vs, Laaksonen will kick off Wednesday's action of the Basel Swiss Indoors at 10:00 a.m EST while Federer vs. Istomin will start at 12:00 p.m. EST. Games can be watched on TV (the Tennis Channel) and live stream (ESPN Watch). Live scores can be followed here.