Djokovic begins Basel defense with win

BASEL, Switzerland, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Defending champion Novak Djokovic got off to a good start Tuesday at the Swiss Indoors, dispatching Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-2, in the first round.

The second-seeded Djokovic wasted little time with Gulbis and now goes on to face either Jarkko Nieminen of Finland or Germany's Daniel Brands at Basel, Switzerland.

Djokovic defeated hometown favorite and world No. 2 Roger Federer in last year's Basel finals. Federer advanced Monday with a first-round win over Aleksandr Dolgopolov.

The Swiss superstar will now face another Serb, Janko Tipsarevic, who moved on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-4, win over Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.

A third Serbian contender, Viktor Troicki, also advanced, downing Germany's Michael Berrer 6-3, 6-0. Troicki will meet either Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu or Germany's Florian Mayer.

Also notching an opening-round win Tuesday was Richard Gasquet of France, who dispatched Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun, 6-3, 6-1. Gasquet goes on to face either No. 3 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic or Germany's Tobias Kamke.