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Federer wins battle of the shot-makers with Llodra

Roger Federer was a beaten finalist at last year's Dubai Duty Free Championship © Getty Images

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Roger Federer's hunt for a 72nd career title began in fine style on Tuesday as he swept aside Michael Llodra in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Championship.

Federer, a four-time champion of the event, was beaten in last year's final by Novak Djokovic. A repeat of that match remains on course for the forthcoming weekend, thanks to a 6-0 7-6(6) triumph over Llodra.

Stylistically, Llodra is set up as a perfect opponent against whom Federer can display his array of skills. A flair player who loves to craft his way through a match, the Frenchman found himself outclassed by Federer, who did not drop a game until the eighth of the contest.

The first set saw Llodra take just seven points. Federer broke on three occasions and produced a handful of sensational shots - none more so than in the set-winning sixth game when he nailed an off-balance cross-court backhand winner.

Llodra's footwork was non-existent early in the match, relying heavily on hitting one-shot winners, but he did draw a roar from the crowd when he got on the scoreboard early in the second set. A break point followed, easily defended by Federer with a forehand winner followed by a smash.

Llodra had entered the match in form, having reached the final in Marseille last week, and he started to find his groove, taking the point of the match in the fifth game of the second set. Twice he forced brilliant volleys at the net from Federer before caressing a backhand at such an acute angle that not even the great Swiss could respond.

With Llodra heating up, it went to a tiebreaker - during which the Frenchman had set point on the Federer serve, but he was eventually beaten after a drop shot allowed Federer as easy backhand winner. The Swiss now meets Feliciano Lopez in round two after Lopez beat Nicolas Mahut 6-4 6-4.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has been tipped by some to break the grip the top four have on the game this year and he eased his way into the second round with a 7-6(2) 6-4 win over Marcos Baghdatis. Tsonga's fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet had a far more disappointing day, as he was a set down to Mikhail Youzhny when forced to retire.

Tomas Berdych looked in strong form as he thrashed Benjamin Becker 6-2 6-2. Berdych required just 62 minutes to defeat Becker, hitting nine aces and breaking four times.

Janko Tipsarevic dropped just four games in beating Igor Kunitsyn 6-2 6-2, while Flavio Cipolla stood tall in the face of a nine-ace barrage from Ivan Ljubicic to progress 6-2 7-5.

Sergiy Stakhovsky eased past home favourite Omar Awadhy 6-1 6-2, booking a meeting with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in round two. And the final match of the day saw eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro grind his way past Alexandr Dolgopolov for a 6-3 7-6(5) victory.

Elsewhere, at the Delray Beach International Championships, top seed John Isner moved into the second round after eventually defeating Jesse Levine 6-4 7-6(15). Compatriot Andy Roddick was also tested by Germany's Phillip Petzschner, but prevailed 4-6 6-4 6-1.

There were wins for many of the top seeds at the Abierto Mexicano tournament in Acapulco, as David Ferrer, Kei Nishikori and Fernando Verdasco progressed to round two. However, third seed Gilles Simon was not so fortunate, the Frenchman bundled out in straight sets by Argentina's Carlos Berlocq.

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