Although second-seed Thomas Enqvist of Sweden beat the 19-year-old Federer 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-1 in the final Sunday, the young player proved he's got what it takes to play with the big boys.
Failing to win his first career title in front of a home crowd may have been disappointing, but Federer was able to brush off the loss and look forward to the bright future many have predicted for the dynamic player, who has been compared to Pete Sampras.
"You have to look ahead always," said Federer. "It was tough but you have to keep going and it will come someday."
Federer, who improved to 34th in the ATP rankings, is known for his smooth, effortless tennis and his cheeky grin.
"Roger plays really well and is improving always," said Enqvist. "He knows how to win against top players. We've seen it before.
"He's got a lot of potential and talent. Roger always puts the ball where you least expect it to come and you have no idea how he managed to put it there."
He made his breakthrough on the ATP Tour this season, reaching the final in Marseille, France, where he lost to countryman Marc Rosset, and the semifinals in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Vienna, Austria and the Sydney Olympics.
In Basel, the pony-tailed teenager nicknamed "the Federer Express" showcased his potential, easily dispatching 20th-ranked Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round and reaching the semifinals without dropping a set.
Federer then battled to a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6) victory over his teen-age rival third-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in an enthralling, furious paced match, lending weight to predictions that the two youngsters may represent the Tour's next Sampras and Andre Agassi.
Both 19, Federer and Hewitt are only a sample of the young talent on the Tour.
Other upstarts include Russia's Marat Safin, the winner of the U.S. Open this year, American Jan-Michael Gambill, two-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, Spain's hard-hitting Juan Carlos Ferrero and Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti _ not to forget Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra, who gave Sampras a scare at the Ericsson Open this year and beat Safin three times in as many weeks before that.
"I've heard the comparisons with Sampras and Agassi," said Hewitt. "But there are a lot of players, I don't think it will be just Roger and I. But I do think we'll be having a lot of matches together in the future."
With the young stars grabbing attention, many veterans have been overshadowed. Half the Grand Slams this season were won by younger players: Safin took the U.S. Open and Kuerten clinched his second French Open title, while Sampras took Wimbledon and Agassi the Australian Open.
(AP)