Austrian wild card Gerald Melzer has reached only his second ever ATP semifinal after battling past his brother Jurgen 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The world No.107 was on course for a meeting with top seed Dominic Thiem before his brother Jurgen knocked him out in the second round. The tournament is Jurgen’s first on the ATP tour since the 2015 US Open after being sidelined by injury. Regardless on Jurgen’s second round achievement, it was Gerald who triumphed in the battle of the brothers. The 26-year-old won 10 out of the last 11 games to reach his first ATP semifinal since the 2015 Munich Open.
“I am happy to be in the semifinals, but I’d rather won against a different opponent today.” Gerald said about the win over his brother.
In the semifinals Gerald will play the highest ranked player left in the draw, fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi. The Italian world No.48 endured a marathon clash against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, lasting over three hours. Lorenzi had a double chance to close the match out 6-2, 6-4, before his opponent battled back to clinch the second set. Despite the blip, he managed to clinch the match 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5.
“It was a great battle,” Lorenzi said.
“I had two match points after an hour and 20 minutes, but usually I love a good fight so I am happy with this match.”
Regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s match, Gerald is set to enter the top-100 next week for the first time in his career.
The other side of the draw saw sixth seed Dusan Lajovic ease his way past Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2, in just 72 minutes. The Serbian faced only one break point throughout his quarter-final match and lost only four points on his second serve (16/20). Lajovic will play in his second ATP final of the year after Sao Paulo.
Lajovic’s next opponent will be Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, a player who had never reached the last eight of an ATP tournament before this week. Facing the Czech Republic’s Adam Pavlasek, Basilashvili battled back from a set and a break down to win 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-3.
