Roger Federer joined forces with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to defeat French wild cards Julien Benneteau and Canadian Frederic Niemeyer 6-4, 6-4 in 62 minutes.
- Federer focused on Olympic gold
It marked their first win as a team, having lost in the first round in their previous appearances last year at Rome and Hamburg.
Federer and Wawrinka, who will represent Switzerland at the upcoming Beijing Olympics, next face No. 7 seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes, who had received a first-round bye.
Meanwhile, US pair of Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish set up a second round meeting with No. 4 seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles after defeating Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra 7-6(6), 6-2.
Bhupathi is a four-time champion in Canada, and won the title last year with Czech Pavel Vizner.
Roddick and Fish won the 2002 Houston title in their team's ATP debut and are playing together for just the sixth time in ATP main draw action.
Photograph: Getty Images | Text: ATPtennis.com
