Roger Federer glided around the court as if he had never been away, each shot eroding any hopes Jurgen Melzer had of ending one of tennis’s most anticipated comebacks prematurely.
Federer, playing in his first official match after a six-month injury break, slammed 46 winners in a 7-5 3-6 6-2 6-2 defeat of the Austrian qualifier on the first day of the Australian Open.
“This year hasn’t been so tough yet, last year was tough,” Federer joked during a court-side interview at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Earlier in the day, top seeds Angelique Kerber and Andy Murray were both given a workout in the Australian heat as they overcame tough Ukrainian opponents to reach the second round.
“It’s nice to be playing normal tennis again on a center court like this, it’s beautiful,” Federer said.
“Couldn’t be happier I am here now. It was a long road and I made it. I’m in the draw which is a beautiful thing and I hope I can stick around for a little bit. First rounds are never easy for anybody, just happy I live another day.”
The former top-ranked Swiss, the winner of 17 majors including four Australian Open titles, and 2010 French Open semi-finalist Melzer first played each other when they were juniors.
Now both 35 years of age and recently having overcome surgery — Federer on his knee a year ago and Melzer on his shoulder in 2015 — the Swiss was in command for most of the match.
Firing off 19 aces and rushing to the net 24 times, Federer was at times so dominant, he even won 16 points in a row from 4-5 in the first set.
His concentration lapsed in the second set, which he lost despite leading 3-1.
He then quickly restored order as he won the next two sets in just under an hour with attacking play that had the crowd roaring with delight at times.
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