Roger Federer says the best is still to come after showing flashes of his former brilliance in his Australian Open first round win over Austrian veteran Jurgen Melzer.
The four-time champion and former world No.1 had too much class for Melzer, winning 7-5 3-6 6-2 6-2 in Melbourne on Monday night.
Playing in his first grand slam after six months sidelined with a knee injury, Federer admitted nerves got to him, particularly early in the match on his serve.
"I was feeling fine all day and warming up but I was nervous once the match actually started," said Federer, who is seeded 17, his lowest grand slam seeding since 2001.
"I hit four frames in a row and I thought, this doesn't feel as easy as I thought it would be.
"I struggled for a while to find that rhythm and groove."
He said he felt better once he stopped trying to over-think every player and relaxed and tried to play more freely.
It wasn't the sweeping dominance of some of his previous first-round victories at Melbourne Park but Federer said he was happy with the performance.
The 17-time major winner returned Melzer's serve well and pummelled 46 winners, while he also posted 36 unforced errors.
"I'm happy with how it went and I think from here on it's only going to get easier," Federer said.
"I'm happy to to win, to be out there ... to feel like I'm part of this tournament, not just in the draw, I'm making strides."
Melzer, who has been ranked as high as world No.8 in 2011, won the battle of the 35-year-olds in the second set but the Swiss Master was still able to pull out the big shots when the pressure was on.
Federer will next face American qualifier Noah Rubin.
He said he was ready for whatever the tournament threw at him.
"I'm ready, I'm fit. I believe in my physical strength," Federer said.
