Tennis: Will Federer be able to get past the tough draw in Basel?

After fighting off Del Potro’s resistance in the semi-finals, and Rafa Nadal’s hard court resurgence in the finals at the Shanghai Masters in China, Roger Federer probably expected an easier time at his hometown tournament in Basel.

Roger Federer to play Francis Tiafoe in the first round

The draw has not been kind to Federer again. The path to the title is strewn with formidable obstacles such as Francis Tiafoe, Dennis Shapovalov, David Goffin, Marin Cilic, and Juan Martin Del Potro.

Tiafoe, apparently, knows a little about Roger’s game and extended him to five sets at the US Open this year. Tiafoe would be tough to get past for Roger Federer, and if he manages to escape that landmine, he might then get to face the very talented, and my bet for the future world number one, Shapovalov in the quarters. All this is assuming Federer can win his prior round against either the mercurial Benoit Paire or steady Steve Johnson.

It will only get tougher for Roger Federer

The competition will only get more intense if Roger Federer reaches the semis where the possibility of meeting a resurgent David Goffin seems very real. Goffin has been playing well lately and won two titles within the last thirty days. The finals, assuming Roger can make that far, will probably be against Maric Cilic, the second seed here or, the on fire, Del Potro who is fresh off his title run at Stockholm last week. In the end, however, it would be unwise to bet on anyone else as long as Roger is still in the draw and, the last I looked, Federer had been lined up to play Francis Tiafoe today.

Prediction: Roger Federer over Juan Martin Del Potro in two, or over Marin Cilic in three, sets in the finals.