Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

All-star turnout for Swiss Indoors

Last year Djokovic failed to beat Federer... Reuters

The 42nd Swiss Indoors men’s tennis tournament begins in Basel on Monday boosted by the presence of three of the world’s top four players.

With its SFr19 million ($21.8 million) budget, Swiss Indoors is the most expensive sporting event in Switzerland but also the third biggest indoors tournament in the world.

Giving defending champion Roger Federer a run for the SFr2 million prize money will be world number one Novak Djokovic – who returns from a six-week injury break – and third-ranked Andy Murray, fresh from winning titles in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai.

  

President Roger Brennwald said this year was completely different from previous Swiss Indoors as “all the players are in the top 40”.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, Basel-born Federer said he was “hungry for victory”. The Swiss, who turned 30 this summer, has not won a title since January. He plays 57th ranked Italian Potito Starace on Monday. 

“I’m completely relaxed and hope it goes well like last year, defending my title… I’m playing well at the moment. The training is going well and I’m really fit,” he told Swiss radio.

He played down slipping to fourth in the world rankings, saying “whether I’m second, third or fourth doesn’t really matter. It just means that the others like Murray, Djokovic, Nadal are playing very well at the moment. But some media don’t want to believe that it’s possible for four players to play well at the same time.”

Djokovic’s charm offensive  

Fellow Swiss, 19th ranked Stanislas Wawrinka trained with Federer on Saturday and joked on Twitter that he had “found a decent sparring partner” in Djokovic on Sunday, posting a post-match photo of himself dripping with sweat, to which the Serb tweeted backed that it had indeed been a “great practice”. Wawrinka plays Croatian Ivan Dodig in the first round.

Djokovic spent Saturday afternoon doing one-to-one interviews with much of the Swiss media, patiently talking about his favourite spot in Switzerland (Crans Montana) and his love of raclette. (See sidebar).

He also admitted that he enjoyed skiing more than tennis. “For me skiing is the number one sport. It is a feeling of total freedom,” he told the Berner Zeitung newspaper.

The Basel tournament will be Djokovic’s first court appearance since a back muscle injury forced him to retire from a Davis Cup semifinals singles match in September. He picks up his 64-3 winning record for 2011 but said it would take some time to get back into shape after his longest break in five years.

“I don’t expect myself to be 100 per cent in this tournament but obviously I will try,” said Djokovic, who beat Federer in the 2009 final and lost their rematch a year ago.

This time last year Djokovic was also only ranked third but climbed to first after winning Wimbledon this summer.

“Coming home”

Playing at Swiss Indoors’ hard court was “almost like coming home”, Djokovic said, adding that the tournament was renowned for its “great tradition” and “knowledgeable crowd”. He plays 50th-ranked Belgian Xavier Malisse on Tuesday.

The centre court at St Jakobshalle has been revamped for this year, falling in line with the World Championships in London with a new blue surface and using the same Head ATP balls.

For René Stammbach, head of the Swiss Tennis federation, Swiss Indoors is a “first class tournament that deserves its place in the ATP calendar”. It is one of the ATP’s World Tour 500 Series, the third highest tier of men’s tennis tournaments.

Home-boy Federer is clearly still the tournament’s big draw though, he told Le Temps newspaper.

“It’s true that people come to see Federer. During his matches you can easily buy your sausages or glass of champagne. And conversely, when he’s not playing, it’s a crush, with everyone walking around the back corridors. And yet there is a super selection of players on offer.”

Swiss Indoors is the third largest indoors tennis tournament in the world. 

It has been held in the St Jakobshalle in Basel since 1995.

Roger Federer holds the record for the most singles titles at the event, and has won four of the last five tournaments. He has reached the final a record seven times.

Last year Swiss Indoors ended a 17-year partnership with tobacco brand Davidoff after being told by the ATP World Tour that the existing sponsorship could not be extended because of worldwide laws restricting tobacco advertising on television.

The tournament was promoted in status to an ATP 500 event, giving the tour central control over television rights.

Novak Djokovic spoke to several Swiss newspapers ahead of the Swiss Indoors. Here are some of his answers:

His favourite place in Switzerland:

“I like Crans Montana best, because I’m a mountain person, and Geneva, where my relatives have lived for the past nine years.” 

On Swiss reaction to him:

“People are not aggressive, they are very pleasant and reserved, even if they recognise me.”

On skiing:

“Although tennis has become my greatest love, skiing still comes before tennis. There’s no greater feeling than looking down a piste.”

On Swiss cheese:

“I like fondue and raclette. My aunt in Geneva makes raclette every time I visit.”

On the future:

“When my career is over I am going to visit every mountain in Switzerland.”

On his current standing:

“I am not so presumptuous as to believe that this will continue forever. Ups and downs are part of tennis.”

On 2012:

“I still have high ambitions. I will start next year with the goal of winning every Grand Slam.”

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR