Roger Federer eased to victory in the first round of his hometown Swiss Indoors event in Basel on Monday, beating Benjamin Becker of Germany 7-5, 6-3.

Federer, the defending champion, who is seeking his sixth Basel title in seven years, served 10 aces against the 83rd-ranked qualifier.

The top-ranked Swiss is heavily favored to claim his seventh title this year after US Open champion Andy Murray pulled out with a back injury on Friday. The Briton's withdrawal elevated Juan Martin del Porto of Argentina to No. 2 seed.

Also on Monday, third-seeded Richard Gasquet of France rallied past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, Julien Benneteau of France beat Russia's Andrey Kuznetzov 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot defeated Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4.

In Spain, former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt knocked out Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round of the Valencia Open on Monday, ending a 10-match losing run against top-10 opponents. Hewitt will face Ivan Dodig after the Croatian qualifier beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (6).

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