The Swiss Indoors comes just two weeks after the Swisscom Challenge in Zurich, which saw Switzerland's Martina Hingis secure her first major title on Swiss soil. Switzerland's most successful tennis player to date, Marc Rosset, passed up the opportunity to appear in Basel, leaving Georg Bastl as the only other Swiss in the competition. Federer - who comes from Basel - is one of the tournament favourites. Swiss hopes rest on teenager, Roger Federer, who narrowly missed out on a medal at the Sydney Olympics. The Australian, Lleyton Hewitt, and the Dutchman, Richard Krajicek, who showed their form in the US Open, are both in Basel for the first time. But the more than 20 players competing for the $1 million ($560,000) prize also include a number of newcomers to the Swiss Indoors. Among the big names this year are the winners of the singles titles for the past three years - Britain's Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman, and Slovakia's Karol Kucera. Around 60,000 spectators are expected to watch the six-day event, which brings together some of the world's finest players.
