Roger Federer vs. Jurgen Melzer: Score, Reaction for 2017 Australian Open

Roger Federer held firm to see off the challenge of Jurgen Melzer in four sets, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Round 1 of the Australian Open on Monday.

Federer finds himself down as No. 17 seed this year after missing six months through injury, and he showed signs of his layoff as he battled his Austrian opponent in Rod Laver Arena.

Qualifier Melzer, ranked 300th in the world, began in confident fashion to break the Swiss' serve in the sixth game of the match. But Federer hit back immediately to square it up at 4-4.

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That passage of play seemed to galvanise Federer into stepping up, and after sharing the next couple of games, he first broke Melzer to love and then held in similar fashion to clinch the first set 7-5.

The second set saw Federer continue to take the shackles off, putting together a run that saw four games sail by without Melzer winning a single point.

Melzer, however, showed his stomach for the battle ahead and refused to be cowed in the face of the Federer onslaught. From 3-1 behind in the set, he scrambled well and earned himself a chance to break back, which he duly took at the second attempt.

Such fighting qualities saw the momentum switch in Melzer's favour. After a comfortable hold, he broke Federer's serve once more to edge closer to levelling the encounter. The left-hander wrapped up the set 6-3 in little over half an hour.

Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times highlighted that it had been a tough night for the returning Federer:

Federer raced into a 3-1 lead in the third set, proving he was in no mood to hang around. The maestro appeared to be warming to the task once more as he comfortably saw out the set 6-2 to put him back ahead in the match.

By now, Federer could use all his experience, as he sensed a place in the second round was his for the taking.

To that end, it was of little surprise when Melzer faltered on serve in the fourth game of the next set, handing his opponent the upper hand in the crucial set.

And the advantage was all four-time Australian Open champion Federer required. He dispatched Melzer 6-2 to complete a hard-earned victory after just over two hours on court.