Fritz sends Zverev packing in Basel as Fognini and Federer sail

Taylor Fritz grabbed his maiden win over the second-seeded Alexander Zverev with a convincing 7-6(7), 6-4 performance to reach the second round at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Tuesday.

Earlier, Roger Federer opened his bid for a 10th title in Basel on Monday, crushing German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in what was the Swiss legend’s 1,500th career match.

Zverev, a semi-finalist last year in Basel, fought in the opening set to take it into a tiebreaker but was overwhelmed in the second by his American opponent in 86 minutes.

Fritz, ranked 31st and a winner at Eastbourne in June, saved both break points against his serve.

Fabio Fognini picked up his London qualifying pace with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Australian Alexei Popyrin. The Italian winner reached the second round in 78 minutes to reinforce his year-end bid.

The Monte Carlo Masters champion stands 11th in the chase for one of the remaining eight spots in the field and is duelling with compatriot Matteo Berrettini.

Fognini said he is not particularly bothered about the race outcome.

Moldovan Radu Albot will line up in the second round against nine-time champion Roger Federer on Wednesday after a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback over Serb Dusan Lajovic.

The US’ Riley Opelka hammered 27 aces in his 7-6(7/5), 7-6 (12/10) defeat of Chile’s Christian Garin and will face either sixth seed David Goffin or Marin Cilic.

Federer’s landmark 6-2, 6-1 success in his hometown set the 38-year-old up for his tilt at a 103rd title.

Federer is defending the 2018 title at his hometown event. The victory improved his career record at the tournament to 72-9 and increased his Basel win streak to 21 straight matches.

The Monday rout took just 54 minutes with Federer forced to break back in the second set before sprinting to the win.

He will face the winner from Radu Albot and Dusan Lajovic in the second round.

Federer, the winner of the previous two editions, last lost here in the 2013 final to Juan Martin del Potro.

Australian Alex de Minaur beat Bolivian Hugo Dellien 6-1, 7-5. Henri Laaksonen knocked out French eighth seed Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-5 for the evening’s second Swiss victory and German Jen-Lennard Struff defeated Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-2.

Elsewhere, Dutch top seed Kiki Bertens beat Croatia’s Donna Vekic for the third consecutive time this year with a 7-6(5) 6-2 victory in their round robin match at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai on Tuesday.

Bertens, playing in her seventh tournament since her U.S. Open third round exit, was pushed to the limit in an absorbing opening set that lasted an hour and 20 minutes, with a number of games going to deuce and plenty of break points available.

There were 15 break points in the match, with Bertens converting four and Vekic winning two.

While the first set went to a tiebreak, Bertens shifted gears in the second to take a 5-0 lead after Vekic dropped three consecutive service games. Despite dropping serve late in the second, Bertens wrapped up the match.

In the other group, fourth seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame Greek ninth seed Maria Sakkari with a straight sets victory, winning 6-3 6-4 in a match where both players won a high percentage of first service points.

Belarusian Sabalenka won 86% of her first service points despite making eight double faults and needed only one break of serve in each set to clinch the contest.

American third seed Madison Keys was no match for China’s Zheng Saisai, falling to a 6-4 6-2 defeat.

Local favourite Zheng’s superior court coverage proved to be a weapon whenever Keys attempted to lure her to the net, and the American was broken six times in the match.

Agencies