Roger Federer began his grass court season with a 7-6(1) 6-3 win over John Millman in Halle to set up a clash with Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
The nine-time champion avenged his loss to the Australian at the US Open last year with a straight sets first round win in Halle.
After a tough first set, Federer gained the crucial break in the sixth game to secure victory and a place in the second round.
Next up for Federer is a match with Jo-Wilfred Tsonga after his win over Benoit Paire.
It was a nervy first set from the 37 year-old, who was playing his first grass court match since his Wimbledon exit to Kevin Anderson last year.
Meanwhile the Australian took confidence from his win over Federer in September last year as he created some good angles early on in the contest.
Despite the world number 57 surviving his service games with some good first serves, there were no break points created as he failed to apply pressure on Federer.
The first set went to a tiebreak as the world number three looked far from convincing so far. However one thing that was convincing was the tiebreak.
A dominant performance in the breaker, saw Federer kill Millman’s momentum with some stunning transition play as he won seven of the eight points.
Although the first set was lost, Millman continued with his plan as he continued to take the match to Federer with some aggressive play.
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However the Australian would eventually pay the price for some passive return games as Federer struck in the sixth game with some unforced errors from his opponent.
One strike tennis at its best from the top seed as his bid for a 10th title continued as he saved break point to complete victory in 79 minutes.
It was an accomplished performance which did see 33 unforced errors from the Swiss as he looks for some momentum ahead of Wimbledon.
Next up for Federer is Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, who he lost to at Wimbledon a few years ago. The entertaining Frenchman beat compatriot Benoit Paire 6-4 7-5, hitting 16 aces.
There was also a win for defending champion Borna Coric, who defeated Jaume Munar 7-6(2) 6-3 to reach the second round and set up a meeting with Joao Sousa.
