Top seed Roger Federer opened his bid for an eighth title in his hometown with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Frances Tiafoe in the first round of the Swiss Indoors Basel. Federer, who missed the tournament last year due to an injury, needed just 61 minutes to record his third win over Tiafoe this season. Federer survived a tough challenge from Tiafoe in the first-round of the US Open, but it was a no-contest this time as the Swiss superstar broke the 19-year-old teenager four times and won all of his first-service points to claim the easy win. Federer will next play Benoit Paire, who defeated Steve Johnson in straight sets in one hour and 50 minutes.
Federer has a 4-0 record against Paire, including a 6-1, 6-3 win in their last meeting at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Defending champion Marin Cilic advanced to the second round after Florian Mayer retired while trailing, 6-3. Cilic will next face Borna Coric or home favorite Henri Laaksonen. David Goffin also reached the second round after beating Peter Gojowczyk, 6-2, 7-5, while Leonardo Mayer posted the biggest upset of the day when he ousted eighth seed Mischa Zverev, 7-5, 7-5. Mayer will next face the winner between Jared Donaldson and qualifier Marton Fucsovics.
Thiem opens Vienna campaign with win
Second seed Dominic Thiem opened his Erste Bank Open 500 campaign in his hometown of Vienna with a straight-set win over Andrey Rublev.
The 24-year-old Thiem dropped just four points on his first serves and broke his opponent four times as he defeated Rublev in one hour and 20 minutes, reaching the next round against veteran Richard Gasquet. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez dealt a big blow to Kevin Anderson’s Nitto ATP Finals aspiration as he defeated the South African in straight sets to advance to the second round against Lucas Pouille.
In other matches, Alberto Ramos-Vinolas defeated Sam Querrey, 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(3); Kyle Edmund ousted David Ferrer, 6-3, 7-6(5); and Dennis Novak eliminated Thomas Fabbiano, 7-6(4), 7-5, in one hour and 56 minutes.
Dimitrov, Cilic make it to Nitto ATP Finals
Grigor Dimitrov and Cilic booked their spots in the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be played from November 12 to 19 at The O2 in London.
The pair will join early qualifiers, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, six-time champion Roger Federer, 20-year-old debutant Alexander Zverev, and two-time qualifier Thiem, in the elite eight-man field. With the entry of Dimitrov and Cilic, there are two spots remaining in the season-ending event. This season, Dimitrov captured three titles, including his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Cilic, for his part, has one title to his name from the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open in April.
