HALLE, Germany, June 9 (AFP): Roger Federer made a victorious start to the grasscourt tennis season with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Finland�s Jarkko Nieminen in the first round of the ATP event here on Tuesday.
The top-seeded Swiss superstar, five times a champion here, prevailed in 1hr 03min to set up a second-round match with either Colombia�s Alejandro Falla or Israeli qualifier Noam Okun.
�I had two double faults, which is usually enough for two matches,� said Federer, who had to save two break points in his first service game.
Federer is seeking to bounce back after falling to Sweden�s Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals at last week�s French Open and losing his world number one crown to eventual Paris champion Rafael Nadal.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion typically uses the Halle event as a tune-up event for Wimbledon, where he will this year seek to win a record-equalling seventh singles title on the south-west London grass.
Elsewhere at Halle on Tuesday, Russian second seed Nikolay Davydenko beat Germany�s Simon Greul 7-6 (7/1), 6-0, but Davydenko�s third-seeded compatriot Mikhail Youzhny fell 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 to German Nicolas Kiefer.
�It was a tough game for me. The longer an injury absence endures, the harder it is to come back,� said Davydenko, who is making his return to action after three months on the sidelines with a left wrist problem.