World number one Roger Federer made an emphatic start in his hometown tournament by beating Czech qualifier Tomas Zib 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Swiss Indoors on Tuesday.
Formerly a ball boy at the Basel event, the nine-times Grand Slam champion is still seeking his first title here although he looks set to rectify that anomaly this week.
Rarely having to stretch himself against an opponent ranked 151st in the world, Federer raced through the opening set in 20 minutes after breaking Zib twice and dropping just three points on his own serve.
Federer showed little sign of tiredness from his successful exertions at last week's Madrid Masters and was also seemingly untroubled by the slight ankle strain picked up during Sunday's win over Fernando Gonzalez.
GROWING IMPATIENCE
The opening four games of the second set went with serve but that owed more to Federer's growing impatience than to any marked improvement on Zib's part.
After hitting a few wayward unforced errors, the Swiss found his rhythm again to take the last five games of the match and complete his victory in just 49 minutes.
"It feels good to finally play a match here," said Federer after missing the last two editions of the tournament through injury.
"I don't really feel any pressure playing at home. It's just playing in front of friends and family that is special. It's a good sign for me that I'm not feeling any extra pressure because maybe before I wanted it too badly.
"Those two years of not playing here have given
Federer reached the Basel final in 2000 and 2001 but was denied the title first by Sweden's Thomas Enqvist and then by Britain's Tim Henman.
LATE WITHDRAWALS
It is hard to see just who can stop him this time, however, particularly after the tournament was hit by a string of late withdrawals by some of the likeliest candidates.
World number two Rafael Nadal pulled out without giving a reason, according to organisers, while American world number nine James Blake, 10th-ranked Tomas Berdych and Spanish former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero were also no-shows.
On Tuesday, Briton Andy Murray added his name to the list of absentees after the 19-year-old world number 17 picked up a throat infection.
Second-seeded Argentine world number three David Nalbandian could be a threat but Gonzalez, Chile's world number seven, is the only other top 10 player and is unlikely to worry Federer.
Federer's next opponent is 75th-ranked Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who also enjoyed victory over a qualifier on Tuesday when he beat Germany's Julian Reister 7-6, 6-2.
Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer booked his place in the second round after coming from behind to beat Federer's fellow local boy Marco Chiudinelli 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
The 25-year-old wildcard, born in Basel a month after Federer, won the opening set tiebreak 7-1 but was unable to follow Federer's example as Ferrer fought back to maintain his slim hopes of qualifying for the season-ending Masters Cup.