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Top seed and four time champion Roger Federer (pictured) cruised into the second round at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over German hope Michael Berrer. The Swiss fired 11 aces and converted three of six break points to claim his first grass court win of the season in 1 hr., 1 min.

"My reaction was good, my movement was good, my serving was excellent," said Federer. "I even tried out a few things when I was up 30 or 40 love on my serve which was good as well. So, I’m very happy with my first round performance."

World No. 1 Federer, who came into Halle having been denied a career Grand Slam for the third successive year by Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final, has not lost a match at Halle since 2002, capturing the titles from 2003-06. The 26-year-old has been to the quarterfinals or better at eight of nine events that he’s contested this season, winning his 54th ATP title in Estoril (d. Davydenko).

American James Blake came through a challenging second round match against German Benjamin Becker as he prevailed 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in 1 hr., 53 min. Becker dropped his first service game in the third set, which proved to be the decisive factor in the match.

"It was a tough one," said World No. 7 Blake. "He was serving great the first set and a half. The way he was serving and playing, he was going to win the match. But I did not hang my head, kept my attitude positive... In the third set, getting the break right away just got my confidence going sky high. I did a great job of taking good care of my serve. To close out a match like that is a good feeling."

The 28-year-old Blake will be playing in his eighth quarterfinal of this season (2-5 record), and his first since the ATP Masters Series event in Rome. He also reached the Halle quarterfinals in his event debut last year (l. to Kohlschreiber).

Blake next faces a first-career meeting against German wild card Andreas Beck, who reached his first ATP quarterfinal by knocking out compatriot Mischa Zverev 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-1.

Philipp Kohlschreiber battled through an all-German second round clash with Tommy Haas 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(5). Kohlschreiber served seven aces and broke serve twice in edging out Haas after 2 hr., 28 min.

"I am happy that I won two rounds," said Kohlschreiber. "We fought really fair today. Both of us wanted to win. But for me the fact that I made it to the quarter finals is in the foreground. I am happy about the victory not about whom I beat."

World No. 40 Kohlschreiber, who was a semifinalist last year (l. to Baghdatis), is through to his third ATP quarterfinal of the season. The 24-year-old captured his second ATP title in Auckland at the start of the season and stands at 19-11.

Kolhschreiber next will face Swede Robin Soderling, who extended his series lead to 4-2 against Tomas Berdych, defeating the Czech defending champion and No. 3 seed 6-2, 7-5 to reach his fourth ATP quarterfinal of the season.

"I think I played a great match today," said Soderling. "I served well, returned well and that is really important on grass. It was the key for me today. Tomas is a great player and especially a great grass court player. He won here last year. So, it was a tough match. But I played two really good sets today."

World No. 42 Soderling, who was a quarterfinalist in Halle in 2005 (l. to Haas), is a two-time finalist this season, finishing runner-up in Rotterdam (l. to Llodra) and Memphis (l. to Darcis); he was also part of the winning Swedish team at the World Team Championships.

Looking ahead to the match, Kohlschreiber said: "He serves from the fifth floor. So, it’s difficult. Today, he beat Berdych clearly. I will see to give him a hard time with my tactics."

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Tuesday: Blake, Youzhny, Baghdatis Ease into Second Round
Monday: Defending Champion Berdych Advances; Nieminen Falls