Simone Bolelli battled back from a one-set deficit to advance through at the Queen's Club at the expense of Gilles Simon this afternoon.

There was very little to separate the two players, both of whom were playing the first matches on the grass courts this year.

The first set went the way of Frenchman Simon, who claimed one break of his opponent's serve to record a 6-4 success.

Bolelli responded positively in the second set by holding his early service games before going on to break Simon to open up a two-game advantage. The Italian eventually forced a deciding set, having ran out a 6-3 winner.

Neither player was able to claim a break of serve in the final set and as a result a tie-breaker was required to determine a winner.

It was Bolelli who took the early initiative with two breaks of serve. He then held his nerve to win the breaker 7-2 and in doing so knocked out the number four seed.