Young Australian Alex De Minaur gave Australian tennis a huge boost in a difficult period, by coming back from what looked like certain defeat to beat Gerald Melzer 57 63 26 76 61.
The youngster had seemed out of it when Melzer had served for the match at five-three in the fourth but broke back, and then won the resulting tiebreak. He then dropped just a single game as he ran away with the fifth set to win of his grand slam debut.
Much is expected of De Minaur after the seventeen year-old started 2017 in stunning fashion, defeating the likes of Mikhail Kukushkin, Frances Tiafoe, and Benoit Paire in the season’s opening weeks.
The youngster was backed by a vociferous Aussie crowd on Court No.3, and managed to get off to a decent start, keeping pace with his more experienced opponent through much of the first set. There were problems in his game though, with his forehand winners count struggling to keep pace with the same wing and the unforced errors. In contrast, his backhand, though with no winners in the first, set troubled Melzer, and produced no unforced errors.
It was forehand that broke down, aiding Melzer in taking the first set. The Austrian, realising the number of forehand errors from his opponent, attacked that wing relentlessly and was rewarded with the break and the set.
The young Australian went down a further break to begin the second, but responded brilliantly to win the next three games. With the forehand beginning to pick up, he managed another break to secure his first set at a pro level grand slam event to level the scores.
Unfortunately, the third set did not go so well for the youngster, as Melzer broke quickly. the break was retrieved but De Minaur quickly found himself in trouble again at two-three. A roar at saving a break point to reach deuce was warmly received by the crowd, but he surrendered the break two points later, and Melzer put daylight between the two with a second break, winning the third set at a canter.
Melzer again broke early in the fourth, and with De Minaur still struggling on serve, looked set for the second round. De Minaur had other ideas though, and broke when the Austrian served for the match at five-three. Both men then held for the tiebreak, and the home favourite swept into an early after a Melzer forehand found the net, De Minaur leading four-two at the change of ends. Melzer completely fell away mentally, demonstrated by a miserable attempt at a drop-shot, and the set went to De Minaur when he put a passing shot right on the shoes of the Austrian.
De Minaur then backed up the tiebreak win with the first break of the fifth, a down-the-line backhand return catching Melzer by surprise, who could only limply slice into the net. A comfortable hold, his first in a long while, saw De Minaur halfway to victory on the scoreboard before Melzer had even registered in the fifth. Melzer fell love-forty in the next game, and double-faulted the double break to De Minaur.
Melzer at least managed one service hold for one-five, but De Minaur then secured the match after three hours and forty-three minutes, a final forehand winner closing it out. The seventeen year-old celebrated passionately with the crowd, earning his first ever Grand Slam win.
De Minaur will face the winner of the meeting between Sam Querrey and Quentin Halys.
