Federer cruises in Dubai as Murray labours

Roger Federer ranged from imperious to effective as he beat Michael Llodra 6-0 7-6 in the $2 million Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday but Britain's Andy Murray was made to fight for his spot in the second round. 

Federer raced through the first set in only 17 minutes, breaking his opponent three times in a ruthlessly dominant display of court craft. 

The Swiss number two seed did not drop a game until the eighth of the match, but the Frenchman dug in to force a tie break in the second set.  

The breaker was closely-fought but Federer eventually won it 8-6 with a backhand on the run. He will now play Spaniard Felicano Lopez, who beat France's Nicolas Mahut 6-4 6-4. 

"It's always great to start off a tournament winning the first set 6-0. I don't know when that's the last time it's happened to me," the 16-times Grand Slam champion said.         

World number four Murray was pushed hard by German qualifier Michael Berrer before winning 6-3 4-6 6-4 to book his place in the second round. 

The third seed, who was playing his first match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the semi-final of the Australian Open in January, led by a set and 3-2 before Berrer fought back to clinch the second.  

Murray looked sluggish at the start of the decider, but broke to lead 5-4 and then comfortably closed out the match. 

"At the start of the match I didn't feel great," Murray said on the ATP website (www.atpworldtour.com).  

"It was one of those strange sets. It was quite a frustrating match because I was up a break twice in the second set, and each time I think gave it straight back.  

"I could have made it a little bit easier for myself if I played a bit better." 

Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro maintained his hot streak by stifling Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6.  
    
The Argentine captured the Marseille Open on Sunday and has now won nine of his last 10 matches after also reaching the Rotterdam final earlier this month. 
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought past Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 7-6 6-4 while Czech Tomas Berdych beat Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-2 6-2.

Murray, playing his first match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals, looked ragged and at times his movement appeared labored in the midday heat. He said later that he didn't “feel great'' at the start of the match and at times felt nauseous on court.

“It was quite a frustrating match because I was up a break in the second set, and each time I think gave it straight back,'' Murray said. “And then the third set again I went up a break and gave the break straight back. So I could have made it a little bit easier for myself if I played a bit better.''

The third-seeded Murray lost his opening service game, but broke back twice to claim the first set. He was saved by his serve which produced three aces and kept the 116th-ranked German off balance.

Berrer dominated the second set, displaying an improved service game and more aggressive play that forced Murray into a slew of unforced errors. Murray went up 3-2 only to see Berrer break back when he hit a volley into the net. Berrer broke Murray to force the decider when the 24-year-old Briton made four unforced errors. After hitting a backhand into the net, Murray punched his leg and muttered to himself.

The first four games of the third set went against serve. Berrer then went up 4-3 only to see Murray regain the momentum and win the final three games to clinch the match.

Murray now faces Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli, who beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. It will be the first time Murray has faced Chiudinelli and he said he needs to make his game more “match tight'' if he wants to go deep in the tournament.

“He's quite a flat striker of the ball. He's pretty quick. He's obviously going to have a lot of experience as well on his side,'' Murray said. “He had a very good win today and a couple of good wins in qualies, so he's playing well.''

In another first-round match, Mikhail Youzhny defeated Richard Gasquet when the Frenchman retired with the flu after losing the first set 6-3.

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