India's Shikha Uberoi and Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia battled into the second round of the women's doubles at the Japan Open in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The pair beat Emma Laine and Lilia Osterloh 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 42 minutes. They will meet America's Vania King and Croatia's Jelena Kostanic in the quartefinals of the event.
World number one Roger Federer overcame stubborn Serb qualifier Viktor Troicki 7-6, 7-6 to reach the third round. He had received a bye in the first round.
British number one Andy Murray failed to follow suit, however, the 19-year-old Scot slumping to a 6-3, 7-6 defeat by Czech Jiri Novak in his opening match in Tokyo.
Federer played well within himself in his first ever match in Japan but ripped through the first-set tiebreak for the loss of just two points against the hard-serving Troicki.
The Swiss failed to overpower his 276th-ranked opponent in the second set as well, until his superior class gave him the edge in another tiebreak.
A fabulous cross-court forehand gave Federer a 6-2 lead before the nine-times grand slam champion closed out proceedings with a fierce serve on his second match point.
"I made it hard on myself," Federer told reporters. "Thank God I have the ability to play well when I really need it. It was a tough match and I'm really happy I came through."
Federer improved his win-loss record for the year to 73-5 in setting up a third-round clash with defending Japan Open champion Wesley Moodie.
The South African beat Austria's Stefan Koubek 6-3 6-4 to earn a shot at Federer.
"It was my first match and I wanted to play it safe a bit," Federer told reporters. "I didn't want to take too many risks... I wanted to get a rhythm for myself."
MURRAY TRIPPED
Murray, who like Federer received a first-round bye, clawed his way back into the second set from 4-1 down but managed to win just one point in a one-sided tiebreak as Novak closed in style.
It was the 10th time this year Murray has tripped at the first hurdle and came on the heels of his first-round defeat by compatriot Tim Henman in Bangkok last week.
"Every single young player goes through a patch where he's not playing well," shrugged the fourth-seeded Murray.
"You can't expect to get to the semi-finals every week -- unless you're Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
"They are the only two who can do it. I wasn't looking that far ahead. I did well to fight back into the match but unfortunately I couldn't quite turn it around."
Dmitry Tursunov of Russia followed his maiden ATP win in Mumbai by beating Yeu-Tzuoo Wang of Taiwan 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
Germany's Benjamin Becker, best known as the man who ushered Andre Agassi into retirement at last month's US Open, will face Novak next after thrashing Thailand's Danai Udomchoke 6-2, 6-1.
Meanwhile, second seed Tommy Robredo of Spain booked his place in the last 16 with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 win over Taiwanese qualifier Lu Yen-hsun.
Finland's Jarkko Nieminen also advanced to the third round, the fifth seed beating German Lars Burgsmuller 7-5, 7-6 in windy conditions on an outside court.
