Roger Federer begins Gerry Weber Open title defence with straight-sets win
Wednesday 15 June 2016 18:17, UK
Roger Federer completed a straight-sets win over Jan Lennard-Struff as he started his bid for a fourth straight title at the Gerry Weber Open.
The defending champion has enjoyed a dominant reign at the grass court tournament and defeated Struff 6-4 7-6 (7-3) to extend his lengthy winning run in Halle.
Federer only claimed a single break throughout the match, breaching Struff's serve to secure the opening set.
The spirited German extended the second set into a tie-break, but could not hold off the Swiss star and an overhit forehand sealed his fate.
A back injury forced Federer out of the French Open and he will be hoping to bolster his fitness on grass this week before heading to Wimbledon later this month.
There was no such trouble for Austria's Dominic Thiem who continued his spectacular form this season with a straight sets victory over Portugal's Joao Sousa.
Thiem is seeded third in Germany and could provide Federer's opposition in the final and that would make for an interesting showdown as Thiem has inflicted Federer's last two defeats this season.
The 22-year-old is up to a career high of number seven in the world, has won four titles on three different surfaces this season and no player has won more matches on the ATP Tour this season.
Thiem racked up victory number 46 with a 7-5 6-4 triumph that saw him back in action after claiming the title at the rain-affected Mercedes Cup in STuttgart than ran into Monday.
Kei Nishikori has also endured injuries throughout his career and a rib problem forced the Japanese player to withdraw from the tournament.
Nishikori, who was due to face Florian Mayer in the second round, remains hopeful he will be passed fit for Wimbledon so it is the German who moves on in Halle.
In other matches, eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-2 7-6 in the first round and Benjamin Becker pulled out of his second round clash against fellow German Alexander Zverev while trailing 7-5 3-0.
