Federer took the first set 6 games to 3.

Hanescu responded by taking Federer to the limit, and taking the second set 7 games to 6.

Federer regained his composure and returned to form in the third set, which he easily won, 6 games to 1.

The number one seed Federer will face number 27^th seed, Marcos Baghdatis later tonight in the third round.

Both teams kept each other scoreless for over thirty minutes of action.

Basel’s Benjamin Huggel, thanks to a great assist by Behrang Safari, scored the only goal of the match at the 33 minute mark.

Basel’s defense prevented Luzern from drawing the match, and goalie Franco Costanzo registered another shutout for his team.

The victory keeps FC Basel in 2^nd place of the Super League Division.

Tobias Bucher gave Visp its first goal after 12 minutes of action.

Beat Heldstab increased the lead by scoring the second goal six minutes later.

Alain Brunold added another goal in the second period and gave Visp the lead by three.

However, Pasi Tuominen put Basel on the board with a goal at the 31 minute mark.

Shortly thereafter, team mate Elias Bianchi scored and put Basel within one.

Visp's Cory Pecker took Basel out of the match in the third period by scoring 2 goals within 12 seconds of each other.

Tobias Bucher ended it by giving Visp its 6th goal of the match shortly before time had expired.

Basel's first round performance in the NLB playoffs wasn't pretty; Visp defeated them in all four games with scores of 9-1, 7-3, 4-2 and 6-2.

But just wait until next year!!!!

Both teams kept each other scoreless for over forty minutes of the match.

Basel's Scott Chipperfield broke things open with a goal after 45 minutes of action.

Team-mate Marco Streller was awarded a penalty kick and scored the goal at the 61 minute mark.

Basel's defense kept Bellinzona from breaking through and proved to be too much for the opposition.

FC Basel remains in 2nd place of the Super League Division, but the team is only 4 points away from first place!

Basel’s hometown tennis star will miss the $2 million event fort he second straight year.

Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic will replace Federer.

Federer stated that his breathing is a little difficult and everything feels a bit slow.

Federer has won the Dubai championships four times, and hopes to recover in time for Indian Wells in March.



Visp took Basel out of the match early by scoring 5 goals in the first period.

Pascal Marolf opened the second period by giving Basel its first goal of the match.

Basel showed signs of life for the next three minutes until Visp’s Raphael Kuonen added another goal for his team.

Teammate Cory Pecker scored another goal for Visp shortly before the period expired.

EHC Basel allowed two more goals in the third period.

This loss puts Basel behind 1 game to nothing in the opening round of the NLB Playoffs.



The Starwings battled back in the second quarter and outscored their opponents by one point; however the team was still 6 points behind at halftime.

Tony Brown and Vernard Hollins took control and helped the Starwings stay in the match, as they scored 28 and 24 points respectively.

However it was the final seconds of the match that made the difference.

Tony Brown, Maxime Jacquier and Jordan Hasquet each scored free throws and put the Starwings ahead for the first time in the game.

Unable to respond, Grand Saconnex let the game slip away from them.

This victory puts the Starwings in 4th place of the NLA division.



Aarau struck first with a goal after 22 minutes of action.

Basel’s Benjamin Huggel was called for a yellow card twenty minutes later.

The call seemed to energize Huggel, who drew the match for Basel with a goal at the 60 minute mark.

Team-mate Cagdas Atan put Basel ahead by scoring 8 minutes later.

FC Basel’s defense did a tremendous job shutting down Aarau’s scoring chances during the remainder of the match.

FC Basel remains in 2nd place of the Super League Division.



Christian Bielmann put Basel ahead with a goal thanks to a timely assist by Pasi Tuominen after 7 minutes of action.

Pasi Tuominen added another goal for his team at the 18 minute mark, shortly before the first period had ended.

Basel’s spirits were to be crushed in the second period.

Karl Fournier put La Chaux de fonds on board with a goal minutes into the second period.

Laurent Emery tied the match with a goal 3 minutes later.

La Chaux de Fonds would go on to score 4 more goals in a span of 10 minutes, leaving EHC Basel searching for answers.

The third period was more of the same, as La Chaux de Fonds scored 5 unanswered goals.

Basel played without Pascal Wittwer, Mike Marolf and Lars Hezel due to injuries.

EHC Basel remains in 9^th place of the NLB division.

After having their winning streak broken by Fribourg last week, the Starwings stormed the court and dismantled their opponents in all four quarters.

Vernard Hollins and Jordan Hasquet each scored 20 points, while Tony Brown gave himself 24 points.

This blowout was played without Tony McCrory, who underwent shoulder surgery.  He is expected to miss the rest of the season.

This victory keeps the Starwings in 5^th place of the NLA Division.