On what was a mixed day for seeded players at the Vienna Open, Roberto Bautista Agut has bowed out in straight sets to home favourite Jurgen Melzer.
Producing a huge surprise during the nighttime match, former top-10 player and now world No.417 Melzer stunned the fourth seeded Bautista-Agut (who recently reached Shanghai Masters’ 1000 final beating Djokovic in the semis) in straight sets, 6-3 7-5. The Austrian took advantage of the involvement of the home-country crowd, but the quality of his performance couldn’t be hidden. The Austrian displayed a vast repertory of shots, putting his Spanish opponent into trouble, especially with the combination of slice wide serve from the advantage side and stunning forehands.
Another seed to fall was Lucas Pouille (7) after he was knocked out 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, by Felciano Lopez. The Austrian crowd was treated to a marvellous encounter, marvellous at least for those who love aggressive and serve&volley tennis. Both players displayed an offensive attitude, with Feliciano coming to the net always behind his first serve and often playing the chip and charge in the return games. Pouille, too, often came forward with the first serve, but he was a little more defensive, trying to build up his game more from the baseline. The first set was decided by only one break and was won by “Deliciano” 6-4. In the second set, Pouille played at his best and secured two breaks of advantage, winning 6-2. In the third set both players displayed their best; Lucas Pouille had one match-point on 5-4 30-40 with his opponent serving, but Feliciano maintained his temper and eventually tied up the games’ count at 5-5, before breaking Pouille and then winning the third set and so the match 7-5.
Earlier in the day, a highly anticipated match resulted in somewhat of an anticlimax. Kyle Edmund, seen by many as the next big thing in British tennis, faced defending champion David Ferrer. Edmund recently won against Ferrer in Antwerp, in their only previous meeting. The match ended with the retirement of Edmund in the first set, when Ferrer led 3-2 with a break. The British had to stop the match due to a hip injury.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga enjoyed a 6-3, 6-4, win over Benjamin Becker, with the help of a break in each set. The Frenchman easily out-played his opponent with his service and forehand, coming sometimes towards the net. Tsonga broke his opponent in the sixth game of the first set and in the first game of the second set.
Dominic Thiem showed once more his impressive skills, defeating Gerald Melzer 6-0 6-3. The first set doesn’t have much to be spoken about, Thiem simply played aggressively from the baseline on each point and “destroyed” Melzer. In the second set, Dominic struggled more in finding a break, but eventually found it in the eighth game and then held his serve, ending his match with a 6-3.
In other matches, Viktor Troicki won a tight match over Kevin Anderson in three sets, winning 4-6 7-6 7-5. Gilles Simon overcame Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4 7-5 and Joao Sousa defeated (by retirement) Pablo Cuevas 6-3 3-0.
