Basel (Switzerland), Oct 24 (IANS): Top seed Roger Federer on Tuesday struggled to defeat Serbian Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the ATP Basel tennis tournament, which he has won eight times.
Federer, 37-year-old and the current world No. 3, needed two hours and nine minutes on Tuesday night to achieve his 67th victory in his hometown tournament, where he has only lost nine games and reached eleven consecutive finals, reports Efe news agency.
The Swiss star will play in the round of 16 against German Jan-Lennard Struff, who defeated Australian John Millman on Tuesday 7-6 (3) and 6-2.
Struff thus prevented a meeting between Federer and Millman and a repeat of the duel of the US Open in which the Australian surprised all and against the odds defeated the Swiss.