Australian Open: Federer battles past Melzer

MELBOURNE: On a night when Melbourne Park registered a record second-session attendance, touching 25,000, Roger Federer's presence at the Rod Laver Arena could be sensed before the Swiss -beloved of the fandom -set foot on the court. The full-house, which waited eagerly for the 17th seed, broke into wild cheers as Federer, dressed in a busy black-and-white combine, took centre stage for the first time in six months.
The 35-year-old, who played just seven Tour-level events last year, missing the last six months with a knee injury that had gone under the knife, looked shaky for most part. Jurgen Melzer, also 35, a qualifier and an old friend, who had beaten Federer in their last meeting in Monte Carlo six years ago, didn't have the appetite on the day and the Swiss scored a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win coming though in 2 hours and 6 minutes. Federer, winner of four Australian Open crowns, will play 20-year-old American qualifier Noah Rubin in the second round on Wednesday.
Federer, who has made 12 semifinals here, went down an early break in the opening set, but rallied to take the set with the crowd firmly behind him. There were flashes of the form that took him to 17 major wins, but for most past he was able pull off what he had to against an opponent who didn't have the extra gear. Melzer worked his way back from a break down in the second set to level set scores, but couldn't trouble Federer, who played aggressively, finishing with 46 winners to his opponent's count of 26.
“Any match is a good match for me today, even if I had lost, because I'm back,” Federer said to loud cheers from the crowd. “I'm happy, it's been a long road. Today I had to stick around a bit, definitely some nerves there. I struggled for a while, but you remind yourself how tough it has been in the first round, it's not always a flier.”