Swiss tennis star Roger Federer is through to the second round of the ATP Halle tournament in Germany, after defeating Hendrik Dreekman, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4.

Dreekman, playing his first match after a two-year break, proved a surprisingly difficult opponent for second-seeded Federer, having earlier seen off his more well-known compatriot Boris Becker 7-6, 6-7, 10-6 during an exhibition match on Saturday.

Federer will face David Prinosil, also from Germany, in the second round of the $800,000 tournament.

Fellow Swiss Michel Kratochvil is also through to the second round in Halle after easily beating Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco 6-2, 6-4.

However, there was bad news in store for Ivo Heuberger, who was forced to pull out with a back injury during his game against Cyril Saulnier of France.

Meanwhile, the Swiss veteran, Marc Rosset, fired 14 aces to defeat his British opponent, Arwind Parmar, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, at the Queens Club tournament in London.

Mikaelian shines in Taschkent

Rising tennis star, Marie-Gaiené Mikaelian, is through to the second round of the hardcourt tournament in Taschkent, Uzbekistan. She beat Julia Fedak of the Ukraine 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-2.

Fedak, ranked 289th in the world, was no match against Mikaelian, who gained in confidence after the first set. Mikaelian, who last year qualified for the semi-finals in Taschkent, is seeded first in the tournament for the first time in her career.

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