World number one Roger Federer launched his 2006 season with a comfortable straight sets victory over Ivo Minar in the first round of the Qatar Open on Tuesday. The Swiss ace, who struggled with an ankle injury during last season, seemed to hit top form as he saw-off his Czech opponent 6-1, 6-3, despite having his service broken late in the second set. "The last thing you want to do is start with a loss," admitted Federer was quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "I was happy with my movement, and that's obviously important after the injury, and I'm pleased with the way I was hitting the ball. I felt very composed. "I was confident because I was playing well in practice but it's still a new year and you want to make sure you will do well again," added Federer. The 24-year old star, who is looking to maintain his number one ranking for the third consecutive year, will next take on France's Fabrice Santoro who beat Oliver Marach in three sets. Meanwhile, top seeds continued to crash out of the tournament following Richard Gasquet's and Olivier Rochus' exits on Monday. Fourth-seeded Sebastien Grosjean was stunned by Morroco's Younes El Aynaoui and fifth-seeded Igor Andreev fell to Italy's Potito Starace.
