Roger Federer is chasing a record fifth Swiss Indoors title as the 2011 ATP 500 event in Basel gets underway.
This is one of Federer's favourite stops on the tour, the unique chance to compete in front of his home fans at the event where he used to ball boy as a kid. Federer had dreamed for years of triumphing in Basel and he finally achieved his ambition back in 2006.
It was the start of a record four titles at the Swiss Indoors and it would already be five if it wasn't for Novak Djokovic in 2009. However, winning the event this year would be a huge achievement for field as the super-strong field contains five of the world's top eight, including Djokovic and the in-form Andy Murray.
Federer is playing down his chances. “This year is a bit different from last year when I had already played Shanghai and Stockholm before coming to Basel,” he said. “Now I'm starting the indoor swing here, which makes it a bit more difficult. The draw has always been very strong here and maybe this is even the strongest ever. You only have good players here.”
Federer begins his campaign on Monday night against Italy's Potito Starace.
