Halle Westfalen (Germany) (AFP)
Roger Federer qualified for the knockout stages of the Halle turf tournament on Monday by winning without really shining against Belarussian Ilya Ivashka 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.
The Swiss, world No.8, dominated his young opponent, ranked 90th in the ATP, for the start of his grass season, two weeks before the start of Wimbledon.
Roger Federer, however, did not seem really domineering, taking the service of his opponent only once during this first round, played eight days after his retirement after three matches at Roland Garros.
In the round of 16 of this German tournament, which he has already won ten times, the former world No.1 will face the winner of the match between the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, 21st in the world, and the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, 17th on Tuesday.
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