The decisive goal in the 1-0 win was scored by the prolific Robbie Keane on 15 minutes when he hammered home the rebound after Younes Kaboul had headed against the Reading bar.Jermain Defoe came close to adding a second but his powerful volley was superbly saved by Adam Federici.
In the second half, Reading's Stephen Hunt volleyed against the bar, and Steed Malbranque also saw a volley tipped on to the bar by Federici.
After the game, Tottenham's assistant manager, Gus Poyet, told BBC Sport:
"We didn't want an open game today and it was important for us to keep a clean sheet.
"Reading tried to equalise but we had two or three great chances as well so we are delighted with the performance.
"We played very well, passed the ball around and created chances - so I think we deserved to win."
Reading manager Steve Coppell commented: "It was my game plan that we should keep it tight in the first half and then go for it in the second half.
"That's what we did and we threw everything at them. Maybe if we had a little bit of good fortune we could have taken it into extra-time.
"A little bit more subtlety might have unlocked their defence, but Tottenham are a good team."
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