Intro:

Defending champion Roger Federer had to come from behind, but still made it through to the third round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany on Thursday (12th June), following a 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-2 victory over Portugal's Joao Sousa.

Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei set up a meeting with Roger Federer at the Halle Open in Germany on Thursday (12th June), following a 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory over Croatia's Ivo Karlovic.

Script:

Roger Federer was up against Portugal Joao Sousa at the Halle Open in Germany on Thursday.

The 32 year-old defending champion appeared relatively comfortable in the first set as he held serve and created seven break points.

However, Sousa managed to save all seven of them before shocking the crowd by taking the first set on a tie break.

Nevertheless, the second seed found his composure as he broke Sousa to take a 4-3 lead in the second set, eventually sealing it 6-4 to force a decisive third set.

Federer showed all his class in the final set as he raced out to a 5-1 lead eventually closing out the match 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 and earning a place in the third round.

The swiss will face Yen Hsun-Lu of Taiwan after he defeated Croatia's Ivo Karlovic in straight sets.

Break points were hard to come by throughout the game, with Lu taking both sets on a tie break to seal the win 7-6, 7-6.

Lu will be hoping for upset in the third round against Federer, although he is yet to win a set against the Swiss having lost their previous two meetings.