Halle Open: Federer eyes quarter-final berth

World number one Roger Federer will aim to book his place in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Halle Open when he squares off with French star Benoit Paire in their last-16 clash here on Thursday.

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

With the win, Federer also extended his grass-court winning streak to 17 matches.

The 36-year-old will now look to continue his momentum when he head into his second-round clash against Paire later today.

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 i.e Wimbledon.

A 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.