Shock and awe

Roger Federer survives a surprise struggle with German Michael Berrer

BASEL: Roger Federer shifted his impeccable tennis back on course after a weekend finals loss, but had to survive a scare from a German giant to reach the second round of the Swiss Indoors on Tuesday. 

Michael Berrer, a hulking 100kg and 1.90 metres, threatened to re-write the script of Federer’s 2007 Basel tennis homecoming, winning a set before finally falling 6-1 3-6 6-3 after nearly 90 minutes.

Federer needed all of his powers of concentration to put aside his three-set Madrid Masters disappointment against David Nalbandian just 48 hours earlier.

Federer missed a chance to lift his seventh trophy of the season in Spain but is fine-tuning this week and next for the season-ending Masters Cup from November 11 in Shanghai.

The Swiss again leads the eight-man field, with up to 20 contenders struggling for the last three places.  

Against Berrer, Federer ran out a pair of love games to start and concluded the rapid-fire opening set in 21 minutes with a clean forehand into the corner.

But that was where the tide turned, with Berrer finding a surprise 4-0 lead in the second set with Federer able to break back only once, in the fifth game.

The Swiss dropped the set and began looking worryingly close to his first back-to-back losses on the ATP since losing in Hamburg to Mark Philippoussis followed 11 days later at Roland Garros when he went out against Luis Horna nearly four and a half years ago. 

“I’m through to the second round and I have a day off on Wednesday,” said the Swiss, wondering what all the fuss was about. “It couldn’t be better.”

The world number one stepped up a gear in the third, securing the 4-2 break on a Berrer double-fault. Berrer made a last stand as he saved a match point three games later before Federer fired over a service winner to close out the great escape.

“I’m having to explain wny I lost a set,” said Federer with bemusement.

Spain’s third-seeded David Ferrer was derailed for the second straight week in a tournament opening round as his qualification for the Masters Cup remained elusive. Ferrer lost to Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-4 7-6 (7/3) to complicate the qualifying scenario for the eight-man season wrapup event in China.

Ferrer, who started October in storming form by lifting the Tokyo title, has fallen mightily, withdrawing from Stockholm and losing last week at home in Madrid to Feliciano Lopez.

The world number six stands next in the queue to take the empty sixth position. But his early Swiss loss delays the final selection process.

Trailing him are four other rivals headed by Basel second seed and former champion Fernando Gonzalez (provisional seventh), German Tommy Haas, who withdrew ill from Lyon, provisional ninth Tommy Robredo and American James Blake. 

Robredo was beaten in Lyon while Blake has yet to play in Basel. With point values lower this week, the positions are moe than likely to be decided at next week’s Paris Masters, the last tournament of the regular ATP season.

Another seed was eliminated at the St Jakobshalle as number seven Juan Chela of Argentina lost 6-3 6-4 to Austrian Stefan Koubek.  Paul-Henri Mathieu defeated Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-3 6-1.