Defending champion Roger Federer has eased into the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a straight-sets win over Mikhail Youzhny.

There was little to separate the players during the early stages of the opening set before the Swiss broke twice in quick succession to take it 6-3.

Second seed Federer then showed his clinical side as he broke twice more to see off the Russian 6-3 6-1 with less than an hour on the clock.

Federer will continue the defence of his title against either Fernando Verdasco or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.