Roger Federer eased into the second round of the ATP grass-court tournament in Halle on Monday, defeating qualifier Ilya Ivashka in straight sets.

Federer, who will turn 40 in August, had little trouble in his first match this season, winning 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 in the first round against Belarusian Ivashka, who is ranked 90th in the world.

In the second round, Federer will face Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada or Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.

Federer stated, “There is room for improvement, but I am happy with my first game here on grass. I feel good.”

Recently ranked eighth in the world, he is attempting to win his 11th Halle tournament.

With the Swiss ace ahead 6-5 in the second set, Federer broke Ivashka’s serve and earned his fourth match point to reach the second round after one hour and 36 minutes.

Earlier, Roger Federer said he is preferring to focus on his primary goal of earning a ninth Wimbledon title.

Taking to his Twitter, the tennis player said, “After discussions with my team, I’ve decided I will need to pull out of Roland Garros today.”

“After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it’s important that I listen to my body and make sure I don’t push myself too quickly on my road to recovery,” he added.

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion has struggled for three and a half hours till 12:45 Sunday morning to beat 59th-ranked Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.

However, after undergoing two knee surgeries in 2020, the Swiss star revealed he was unsure if he’d make it.

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