Olympic Tennis - Roger Federer vs. Julien Benneteau (13:30 BST)

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by Crunch Sports Staff

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Roger Federer (credit: MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/GettyImages)

Roger Federer takes on Julien Benneteau this afternoon in the second round of the men's singles at the London 2012 Olympic Games (13:30 BST start).

Federer will be aware of the tough challenge ahead of him, as Benneteau has previously recorded a win over the Swiss.

Federer started his Olympic campaign on Saturday by beating another bogey opponent in Colombia's Alejandro Falla. The world No. 1 two sets to love down against the unfancied Falla at Wimbledon 2010 and he made a meal of closing out victory this time round. Leading by a set and 5-3, Federer squandered four match points and lost the second set, before eventually putting his supporters' nerves to rest and sealing a three set win.

"I've struggled against him in the past at times," Federer said afterwards.

"All of a sudden I missed the match points, things got difficult and he played a great match to come back, so I'm relieved of course. Falla is a great player, counter-punches well, plays really well and made things really difficult for me."

Benneteau enjoyed an impressive 7-5 6-3 first round win over Wimbledon quarter-finalist Mikhail Youzhny and he'll be confident he can pull off an upset having led Federer by two sets to love in the third round. He knows what it takes to beat the Swiss having dumped him out of the Paris Masters a few years ago.

This could be tight, but look for Federer to edge it.

Prediction: Federer in three.

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