Federer beats Nalbandian in Swiss Indoors final

By GRAHAM DUNBAR, Associated Press Writer

BASEL, Switzerland (AP)—Roger Federer won his hometown tournament for the third straight year on Sunday, beating second-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors final.
The top-seeded Federer hit eight aces and conceded just seven points on his serve all match.
“Things are back into a groove the way I like it. I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” Federer said. “It feels great to win at home. Once you had it you want more of it and you want to do it over and over again.”
It was Federer’s fourth title of the season after victories at the U.S. Open, in Estoril, Portugal, and Halle, Germany. He is 4-4 in finals this season and 57-21 overall.
Federer improved to 10-8 against the 26-year-old Nalbandian, who won in Basel in 2002 and is a three-time runner-up.
The Argentine said Federer’s performance was among the best he has faced in their long rivalry that began as juniors.
“I didn’t play my best, but today he was very good,” Nalbandian said. “He was always winning his service games easy. So it was tough for me.”
The 27-year-old Swiss broke to lead 4-2 in the first set and again in the third game of the second set.
The fourth game of the first set epitomized the high quality of the tennis. Nalbandian saved five breakpoints, twice with aces, and eventually held after six deuces.
Federer kept up the pressure on his opponent’s next service game, creating two breakpoints with a forehand passing shot on the run. Nalbandian then hit a forehand long to drop serve.
Federer held to love in the next game, helped by two heavily sliced aces to Nalbandian’s forehand. He clinched the set with an ace and three service winners.
In the second set, Federer hit a backhand crosscourt winner to break for a 2-1 lead.
Federer closed out the match with a forehand winner behind a big serve.
He wouldn’t commit to playing in the Paris Masters starting Monday, where he is seeded No. 2 behind Rafael Nadal and has a first-round bye.
“I’m feeling sort of OK right now, but we’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” Federer said.