Battling to his ninth Basel title last weekend can fuel Roger Federer's launch toward rare title air in Paris this week.
The 37-year-old Swiss returns to the Rolex Paris Masters for the first time since 2015 when he faces Milos Raonic today. Raonic toppled Federer, 7-6 (5), 7-5, in the 2014 Bercy quarterfinals.
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Fresh off his 99th career title in his hometown on Sunday, Federer is playing to join Jimmy Connors as the second man to capture 100 career titles in the Open Era.
The third-ranked Swiss showed spirit and problem-solving skills winning three-setters over Filip Krajinovic and Gilles Simon in Basel.
"This one was sort of from the first match till the last match, I was a bit bumpy, but I was happy how I was returning, how I was fighting, how I was trying to figure it out in a different manner," Federer told the media in Paris. "Yeah, I mean, look, I think I actually started playing better as the tournament went on. It's kind of logical,you know, that you always start feeling better as you go on."
The Australian Open champion said his primary purpose returning to Paris is getting more match play ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals in London.
"I always want to keep the door open for Paris, and I'm happy I'm here," Federer said. "And like I said, I would rather play on a nice court rather than going back to practice. I've already done enough practice this season. So I feel like if that helps me for London that's a great thing.
"And I have also not played in this city for some time. That was the excitement today as well to it. But last week was special to win at home the way I did it, in a different manner. It was a good feeling, no doubt about it."
Photo credit: Christopher Levy