Top seed and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt struggled to a three-sets win over unseeded Dutchman Raemon Sluiter at the Queen's tennis tournament in London.

Hewitt, the world No.1, needed two tie-breaks to overcome the world No.63 7-6(8-6) 3-6 7-6(7-3) in the second round of the Stella Artois Championships, in his first match on grass this year.

Hewitt, who is attempting to become the first player to win the Wimbledon warm-up tournament four years in a row, will play Belgium's Dick Norman in the third round.

Meanwhile, former junior tennis champion Todd Reid has followed up his first senior tour win with a second-round win at the Queen's tournament - this time over 10th seed Jan-Michael Gambill.

Reid, 19, and ranked 279th in the world, raced away with the first set then battled a more focused Gambill in the second, beating the world No.39 6-1 7-5.

"I'm very pleased at the moment. I cannot complain at all," Reid said.

"To come out and win my first match against a guy ranked around 200 and then to beat Jan-Michael Gambill, one of those top 50 players - I just feel great at the moment."

Reid will play eighth seed Sebastien Grosjean in the third round, with a possible fourth round meeting with Hewitt.

In the juniors tournament, Australians Adam Feeney and Chris Guccione both won through to the second round.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP