By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Roger Federer won 20 of 22 points played on his first serve in a 6-1, 6-2 dismissal of Mikhail Kukushkin.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Gliding inside the service line, Roger Federer angled a dipping forehand volley that spun sideways leaving Mikhail Kukuskhin shaking his head in dismay at the Swiss' slick racquet work.
Serving with precision and moving forward from the start, Federer made the ball dance with devious spins displacing Kukushkin, 6-1, 6-2, in breezing through his Basel opener.
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Federer won 20 of 22 points played on his first serve and denied both break points he faced in a clinical 54-minute victory.
The six-time champion raised his Basel record to 57-9.
A former Basel ball boy who once rode his bicycle to work his hometown tournament, Federer has remembered his roots and paid it forward throwing pizza parties for the current ball kid crew in recent years.
The 34-year-old Swiss had no time for hospitality in his return.
Prowling the baseline, Federer was quick off the mark to attack behind his forehand and sometimes dragged his 64th-ranked opponent dishing out disorientating spins and angles.
Sending a message of the pressure he planned to impose, Federer rushed net on the first point of Kukushkin's opening service game and knocked off a forehand volley winner. Kukushkin has a fairly elaborate backswing on his forehand side. Federer cracked deep forehands to rush his opponent into errors from the forehand wing, converting his fourth break point for 2-0.
Denying two break points, Federer snapped off a high smash to consolidate. Stepping inside the baseline to take the ball on the rise, Federer torched his forehand to break again leaving Kukushkin looking a little helpless at the onslaught.
The reigning champion won nine of 10 points on his first serve streaking to a 5-0 lead after 16 minutes of play. Jabbing a forehand volley down the line, Federer finalized the first set in 21 minutes, dropping just five points on serve.
Kukukshkin withstood three break points to open the second set. In the fifth game, he scattered a double fault gifting the break and a 3-2 lead to the Swiss.
Exhibiting sculptor's feel on an exquisite half-volley to hold, Federer went right back to work posing pressure on return. The US Open finalist pulled off the SABR return robbing Kukushkin's reaction time to set up a leaping smash scoring his fourth break for 5-2.
A fine forehand volley set up an angled drop volley winner that brought Federer to match point. He finished a 54-minute dissection with a serve winner.
Federer will face good friend Philipp Kohlschreiber for a quarterfinal spot. The Swiss is 10-0 lifetime vs. the 32nd-ranked German, including a comeback victory in Halle and a straight-sets decision at the US Open this season.