MELBOURNE, Australia -- Roger Federer entered the unknown during the only extended layoff of his career in 2016. He made the difficult decision to take more time off than his doctors recommended for his left knee injury, but he never considered retirement.
Instead, he led hiking trips in the Swiss mountains with his wife and four children. There was a Formula One race in Abu Dhabi and -- not his idea -- a week without children at Paris Fashion Week.
"It's decided, you're home and you're not [playing tennis] and just deal with it," Federer, 35, said in an exclusive interview with Melbourne's The Age this past week. "I'm old enough that I can handle it, and it wasn't depressing at home at all; it was great."
But it was back to the grind in Melbourne on Monday. Federer prevailed against a familiar opponent, beating Jurgen Melzer, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in an entertaining opener that was the Swiss star's first official match in more than six months. It was Federer's 800th career hard-court win.
"This match tonight was more about how I coped with my comeback," Federer said. "I'm happy with how it went. It's only going to get easier."
In a logical extension of Federer's unprecedented achievements, he's entering an awkward phase for which there may be only a single viable comparison.
It's not Pete Sampras (Federer broke his record of 14 majors at Wimbledon in 2009), who played his last match -- winning the 2002 US Open -- a month after his 31st birthday. Not Rafael Nadal, who appears prematurely brittle at 30.
Nor is it the likes of John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl or Boris Becker, who were all in their early 30s when they checked out. The great Bjorn Borg won his 11 majors, then was gone from the game at the age of 25.
Ken Rosewall, the ageless Aussie, is the historic anomaly.
He won his first two Slams at the age of 18, at the Australian Open and the French Open, back in 1953. But playing as a professional from 1957 to '68, he was excluded from the majors. In a glorious second act, Rosewall won the 1970 US Open at the age of 35, the 1971 Australian Open at 36 and, incredibly, the 1972 Australian Open at 37.
Federer and Melzer have a history that reaches back to the 1998 Orange Bowl, a prestigious junior's event.
Federer beat Melzer in a breezy second-round match and won the tournament that featured three other future professionals in the semifinals alone -- David Nalbandian, Guillermo Coria and Feliciano Lopez. Melzer and Andy Roddick, who lost in the first round, turned out to be decent pros, too.
Fast-forward to 2017 and, it turns out, Federer and Melzer are still getting after it.
"To win, to be out there, to play Jurgen was cool," Federer said afterward. "It's nice speaking to the crowd at the end, feeling like I'm part of the tournament, making strides."
Melzer, who is also 35, counts Federer as a good friend. His has fallen to No 296 among ATP World Tour players and was trying to become the lowest-ranked player to ever beat Federer. The Austrian won his last match against Federer, but it was six years ago in Monte Carlo. This time, the momentum generated by three qualifying wins wasn't enough to sustain Melzer.
Next up for Federer is a second consecutive qualifier, 20-year-old New Yorker Noah Rubin. It's a quirky draw that is soft on the outside with an increasingly hard center. With a win in Wednesday's second round, Federer likely would face No. 10-seeded Tomas Berdych in the third round, then potentially No. 5 Kei Nishikori in the fourth and No.1 Andy Murray in the quarters.
It was good to see the familiar footwork, the ball coming back impossibly early. There were some modest fist pumps and aces in bunches. But, somehow, it feels different now.
"This match tonight was more about how I coped with my comeback," Federer said. "I'm happy with how it went. It's only going to get easier."
Consider the streaks that ended for Federer in 2016: consecutive years in the top 10, winning an ATP title and recording 40-plus victories.
"It was a long road, but I made it," Federer said. "Hope I can stick around a little bit."