World number one and top seed Roger Federer posted a fluent 6-1, 6-1 victory over Spaniard David Ferrer in the first round of the ATP $1 million Qatar Open on Monday.

The Swiss, who won three Grand Slam titles last year, wrapped up the match in less than an hour with a superb display of his serve and volley game.

Perhaps the most competitive phase of the match was the first game when Federer held his serve only after being pulled back to deuce three times.

With the score at 4-1 to Federer, the Swiss changed gears and came up with a flurry of shots including a couple of deftly placed drop shots and some powerful smashes.

He said later: "The surface is quite slow and one has to be patient on a surface like this. But I am happy to play so well in the first match of the new season."

Federer's next opponent will be Briton Greg Rusedski, a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Czech Republic's Jan Hernych.

"I'm still excited about 2005. It is great to be healthy. I worked very hard during the off-season and it's paying off," Rusedski said.

Last year's runner-up and sixth seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia beat Switzerland's Stansilas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4.