Federer breezes into Halle Open quarters

Defending Champion Roger Federer continued his winning streak on the grass court after defeating France's Benoit Paire in the second round of the Halle Open here.

The 36-year-old thumped his French rival 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 to enter the quarter-final of the tournament.

After conceding defeat in the first set, Paire made a solid comeback and fought hard till the final set. But in the end, it was the Swiss player who turned the tables on his opponent.

Earlier, the 20-time Grand Slam champion began his last week pre-Wimbledon competition with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Slovenian Aljaz Bedene in a one-sided opening-round clash that lasted one hour and 11 minutes.

The Swiss tennis maestro, who recently won his 98th title by defeating his Canadian opponent Milos Raonic in straight sets in the finals of Stuttgart Open, is spending his second consecutive week on the grass court in the build-up to the third major of the season, that is, Wimbledon.

The nine-time Halle Open champion, who recently climbed up to the top ranking for the sixth time in his career, will have to defend the Halle title if he wants to retain the top position.

The Swiss marvel will face Australia's Matthew Ebden in the quarter-final clash on Friday.