Turkish delight for Roger Federer in Istanbul

The top seed and world number two was the star attraction in the ATP World Tour 250 event and did not disappoint despite a battling display from Cuevas.

Federer eventually won 6-3 7-6 in one hour 36 minutes, the marathon second set tiebreak falling to the Swiss 13-11 to wrap up his 85th tour-level title.

Turkey is the 19th diffferent country where Federer has lifted a trophy and it is added to his earlier triumphs this season in Dubai and Brisbane in Australia.

"I'm very proud to be the first champion here at the first-time tournament here in Istanbul. In Turkey, I've had a wonderful week," he told the ATP official website.

"On and off the court, I was able to visit the city a little bit, meet a lot of people, enjoy the crowd support and experience Turkey."

He will now head to Spain for the Madrid Masters and a potential semifinal showdown with his long-time rival Rafael Nadal.

The tournaments are preparation for the French Open, the clay court grand slam which Nadal is bidding to win for the 10th time.

Halep and Bouchard out

The stars of the WTA are also in the Spanish capital and Sunday saw a big shock as world number two Simona Halep slumped to a shock 7-6 6-3 defeat to France's Alize Cornet in the first round.

Halep, who reached the final in Madrid last year, struggled throughout and lost in just under two hours.

Maria Sharapova had better luck as she beat Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-3, but Eugenie Bouchard's recent slump continued as the Canadian lost sixth consecutive match, this time to the Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova in three sets.

Later, top seed and world number Serena Williams breezed to an easy win over fellow American Madison Brengle (USA) 6-0 6-1/

Kyrgios beaten

At the Estoril Open in Portugal, Nick Kyrgios of Australia was denied a first ATP title when beaten 6-3 6-2 by France's Richard Gasquet.

The 20-year-old Kyrgios was always on the backfoot against Gasquet, who is returning to his best after back problems.

It was his 12th career title and revenge for his defeat to the Australian at Wimbledon last year when the Australian saved nine match points in their second round tie.

(CNN)