Federer and Davydenko go through

HALLE: Nikolay Davydenko, seeded second, made a winning return to action after a two-month injury lay-off at the Gerry Weber Open beating Simon Greul 7-6(1), 6-0 in the first round.

Top seed Roger Federer too advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jarkko Nieminen.

However, third seeded Mikhail Youzhny was upset 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 by Nicolas Keifer.

In second round action of the Aegon Championship at London's Queens Club, veteran Rainer Schuttler surprised sixth-seeded Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 while third seed and defending champion Andy Murray got past Ivan Navarro 7-6(8), 6-3.

Somdev Devvarman crashed out losing 6-1, 6-4 to Mardy Fish in the first round.

Murray, playing his opening match after being given a first-round bye, is looking for a morale-boosting run at the grasscourt event as he warms up for Wimbledon. He has been stuck in something of a rut since losing the Australian Open final to Roger Federer and his disappointing claycourt season ended with a tame fourth-round exit at Roland Garros against Tomas Berdych.

“The second set was better and by the end of the match I was starting to get some good returns in. I thought I moved pretty well once I got into the rallies,” the Scot said.

The results: At Birmingham: Aegon WTA Championship: First round: Ayumi Morita bt Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; Vania King bt Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-0; Aleksandra Wozniack bt Alicia Molik 7-5, 6-1.

At London: Aegon ATP Championships: Second round: Rainer Schuttler bt Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2; Richard Gasquet bt Rajeev Ram 6-3, 7-5; Andy Murray bt Ivan Navarro 7-6(8), 6-3. First round: Marc Gicquel bt Michael Russell 7-6(6), 6-3; Bernard Tomic bt Andreas Seppi 6-3, 5-7, 6-3; Nicolas Mahut bt Lu Yen-Hsun 7-6(2), 6-4; Xavier Malisse bt Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 7-6(3); Grigor Dimitrov bt Alex Bogdanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Mardy Fish bt Somdev Devvarman 6-1, 6-4; Dustin Brown bt Frank Dancevic 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4.

At Halle: Gerry Weber Open: First round: Roger Federer bt Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-4; Marco Chiudinelli bt Olivier Rochus 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; Nicolas Keifer bt Mikhail Youzhny 4-6, 6-1, 7-5; Nikolay Davydenko bt Simon Greul 7-6(1), 6-0; Philipp Kohlschreiber bt Ruben Bemelmans 7-6(2), 6-7(10), 6-4; Andreas Beck bt Sergey Stakhovski 6-1, 7-5; Mischa Zverev bt Florent Serra 6-4, 6-4. — Agencies