Roger Federer v Joao Sousa 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-2

Roger Federer wins Halle opener in 3 sets

12-06-2014

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Roger Federer began his grass-court preparations for Wimbledon by coming from behind to beat Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-2 at the Gerry Weber Open on Thursday.

Sousa saved all five break points he faced before taking the first set in a tiebreaker, but the second-seeded Federer raised his level in the next two sets to win the second-round match and move into the quarterfinals.

It was Federer's first match since losing in the fourth round at the French Open to Ernests Gulbis. He had a first-round bye in Halle, where he is a six-time champion.

The seven-time Wimbledon winner will next play Croatia's Ivo Karlovic or Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal was scheduled to play Dustin Brown later Thursday in his first match since winning his ninth French Open title.