INDIAN WELLS, California (AFP) - Roger Federer has returned to action for the first time since the Australian Open, easing into the third round of the Indian Wells Masters Series with a straight-set win over Marc Gicquel.
The Swiss star, sidelined by a lingering back injury for more than six weeks, beat Gicquel 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, firing the last of his 12 aces on match point to wrap up the one-hour, 23-minute encounter.
Federer didn't face a break point against the 52nd-ranked Frenchman, breaking him in the seventh game of the second set to seize the advantage.
"It was OK," Federer said of his back. "I was happy. A bit rusty maybe, coming back from not having played. I'm happy I've won. That's always most important."
Federer was returning to the court for the first time since an emotional five-set loss to Spain's Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final.
Nadal, seeded first here ahead of Federer and defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, denied Federer a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam crown, and handed him his first defeat in a hardcourt Grand Slam final.
Federer will hope to have a chance to reassert himself against Nadal in the final here, where he won three titles in a row from 2004-06.
He said the time off after Melbourne had done him a world of good.
"I had to put in an incredible effort to get back to my level after being sick at the beginning of last year," said the Swiss, who was hampered in early 2008 by glandular fever and was toppled from the world number one spot by Nadal in August.
"Then it was the Olympic Games in 2008, that didn't help either. I needed more of a break and more practice.
"My back was killing me at the end of last year. I just had to take a rest, and this was the time to do it."
Fourth-seeded Briton Andy Murray also made a winning return to action after battling a virus that sidelined him in February.
Murray, ranked fourth in the world, booked a third-round berth with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Spain's Albert Montanes.
Murray shook off an early break in the opening set, and earned the lone break in the second set in the eighth game to serve for the match.
"I thought I moved great, best I had moved in quite a while," said Murray, who was forced to withdraw from the quarter-finals in Dubai with a mystery virus that also caused him to miss Britain's Davis Cup tie against Ukraine.
"I feel fine," he said. "I didn't feel like I was too out of breath after long rallies. "I felt like I could have gone for at least another 45 minutes or so.
Nadal, who lifted the trophy here in 2007, and Djokovic open their campaigns on Sunday, when Nadal plays German qualifier Michael Berrer and Djokovic takes on Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello in second-round matches.
In women's action, defending champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the fifth seed, made it safely into the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus.
Third-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva was less fortunate, crashing to a second-round defeat against Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska.
Cetkovska, ranked 71 in the world, downed the world number four and Olympic champion 7-6 (7/2), 2-6, 6-1 in what she called the biggest win of her career.
Second-seeded Serbian Jelena jankovic was also in action, taking on Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the third round.
Seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland advanced, beating Australian Samantha Stosur 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.