Three-time defending champion Roger Federer wasted no time in making his way through to the quarter-finals at the Swiss Indoors Basel, an ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament, taking just 61 minutes to defeat Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday evening.

“I had to save break points today, which I didn’t have to do in the first round, so I thought it was a bit tougher,” said Federer, who defeated Olivier Rochus in his opening match Monday. “But I was able to raise my game at a few crucial moments and that was the difference today.”

Federer broke Seppi for the third time in the match to post his 17th straight win at his hometown tournament, improving to a 31-6 event record overall. In addition to his title wins the past three years, the Swiss finished runner-up to Thomas Enqvist in 2000 and to Tim Henman in ’01.

The World No. 1 is making his first main draw appearance since the US Open final (l. to del Potro), although he led his country past Italy in the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs in mid-September. He has lost just two matches since clinching his first title of the 2009 season in May at Madrid.

Fifth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek advanced to the quarter-finals in a contrasting fashion, prevailing against French lucky loser Florent Serra 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(1). Despite hitting 22 aces during the two-hour, 20-minute match, Stepanek was denied on all 16 of his break point opportunities, forcing him to go the distance in the tie-breaks.

Fernando Gonzalez’s bid to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals was dealt a setback after he was upset by American John Isner 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in his first-round match. The third-seeded Chilean won one more point than Isner during the evenly matched encounter, but dropped serve for the only time in his final service game – proving the deciding factor.

Gonzalez had begun the week at No. 10 in the year-to-date South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, 250 points back of Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the coveted eighth spot, and was looking for another strong performance in Basel to gain ground in the standings. The 29 year old had reached the final in three of his past five Basel appearances, winning the title in 2005 (d. Baghdatis) and finishing runner-up in 2002 (l. to Nalbandian) and ’06 (l. to Federer).

Isner, who snapped a four-match losing streak with his victory over Gonzalez, is one of the most improved players on the ATP World Tour this season, jumping from No. 145 at the end of last year to No. 40 coming into this week. He next faces fellow Basel debutant Richard Gasquet, who accounted for last week's St. Petersburg finalist Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 7-6(3), 6-4.

Switzerland’s No. 2 player, Stanislas Wawrinka, battled past last week’s Lyon champion Ivan Ljubicic 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in his first-round match. The sixth-seeded Wawrinka dropped just nine points total on serve in the final two sets to clinch the victory in two hours and 12 minutes.

Wawrinka is one of four Swiss players to reach the second round this week in Basel, joining Federer, wild card Marco Chiudinelli and qualifier Michael Lammer. The World No. 21, who improves to a 30-18 season record, next faces Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen for the first time.

Fourth-seeded Croatian wild card Marin Cilic, a two-time ATP World Tour titlist from four finals this year, defeated World No. 76 Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-4, 6-4 in a big-serving encounter that lasted 84 minutes. Cilic won 68 per cent of service points, hit 14 aces and saved both break points he faced. He improved to a 45-19 match record on the season.

The 21-year-old Cilic will add 45 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points if he beats Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the second round on Thursday. Cilic is 870 points behind No. 8-ranked Verdasco in the year-to-date rankings and the battle for one of two remaining singles berths at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals later this month. Any player hoping to qualify for the prestigious season climax must be within 1,000 points of Verdasco by the end of this week's tournaments in Basel and Valencia.

Jeremy Chardy won 76 per cent of service points and fired 24 aces past seventh-seeded American James Blake in a 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-4 win in two hours and 17 minutes. Chardy converted one of seven break points in the pair’s first meeting, while Blake hit 14 aces and eight double faults. 

Chardy, who captured his first ATP World Tour title at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart (d. Hanescu) in July, improved to a 35-26 mark on the year.  World No. 41 Blake, a two-time finalist this season, dropped to a 23-20 season record.