Federer wins Swiss Indoors opener

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BASEL, Switzerland, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Two-time defending champion Roger Federer picked up a straight-set win Monday in opening round action of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament.

The event is played in Federer's hometown of Basel and has been a good stop for him. Federer, ranked No. 1 in the world, has won five of the last six Swiss Indoors tournaments and was second in 2009. He also finished second in 2000 and 2001.

Federer moved to the second round with a 7-5, 6-3 decision over Benjamin Becker. He dropped serve once, falling behind early in the second set, before posting two breaks to finish the match.

Fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet capped Monday's schedule with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Robin Haase. Haase had 13 aces and no double faults but Gasquet finished off three of his five break chances. He didn't allow Haase a break-point opportunity over the second and third sets while wining more than 70 percent of the points on serve.

Also Monday, Julien Benneteau also advanced in three sets, stopping Andrey Kuznetsov 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Lukasz Kubot defeated Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-4 with a pair of breaks in each set.