Jürgen Melzer

Born: May 22, 1981 in Vienna
Height: 1.82 m
Plays: Left-handed (two-handed backhand)

For typical Open Era players (by “typical,” I mean those born since the 50s), it was quite natural to play singles and doubles in the same events. This trend began to shift towards specialization for players born in the 70s; however, a few players from that generation (Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Jonas Björkman, Patrick Rafter) still managed to reach the Top 5 in both singles and doubles. Among players born in the 80s, barely Melzer achieved very good results in both disciplines for a longer period of time (other left-hander Michaël Llodra, four days older than Melzer, is the only player comparable) allowing him to reach the Top 10 in each, and he did so when approaching his 30th year.
Melzer was the best Austrian player between the eras of Thomas Muster and Dominic Thiem, though not at their level. Like them, he achieved his best result in Paris (Thiem improved his Parisian efforts in New York). It was Roland Garros 2010: Melzer hadn’t progressed beyond the third round in singles in any of his previous 31 major attempts, so he could be very happy just reaching the quarterfinal against Novak Đoković, who was already established as a member of the Big 3. For Melzer, reaching the major quarterfinal was two rounds better than his previous best at this level. The end of the road seemed inevitable as the Serb led 6-3, 6-2, 2:0, but Melzer staged one of the most impressive comebacks of the decade at Roland Garros, winning a thriller on Suzanne Lenglen after 4 hours and 15 minutes, being five points away from defeat in sets 4 and 5. That victory is even more impressive in retrospect, given Đoković’s incredible record in five-setters. It marked a turning point in the career of the 29-year-old Austrian even though he had no chance in the semifinal.
The same season, he advanced for the first time to the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open and also defended his title in hometown Vienna, having defeated Rafael Nadal in his previous event (Shanghai), from start to finish playing arguably the best match of his life. Melzer’s journey to the Top 10 continued in the following season – he reached the round of 16 in Melbourne for the first time, followed by his lone Masters 1K semifinal in Monte Carlo after defeating Roger Federer. That win over Federer (6-4, 6-4) marked the end of Melzer’s great form, which spanned a non-calendar year. Following in the footsteps of several gifted players, he experienced a period of about ten months of consistency at the highest level, but in his case, it was stretched over two seasons, which meant he didn’t play in the ‘Masters’ tournament. Paradoxically, he won his arguably biggest title (Memphis 2012) nearly a year after the Federer victory, at a time when he was struggling to win two consecutive matches.
Melzer was among the most offensive players who used a two-handed backhand (Wimbledon and US Open doubles champion along with Philipp Petzschner during his two best years). He often played backhand dropshots using both hands – a rarity, with Nikolay Davydenko being one of the few other players to do so, with the right hand as the leading one as opposed to Melzer. Unlike Davydenko’s two-handed backhand volley, Melzer’s backhand volley was a very classical stroke. I would consider his cross-court (inside-out included) forehand to be his best shot. Playing a lot of doubles helps players improve cross-court returns, so there were a few technical aspects of Melzer’s game that made him a tricky opponent at the turn of the 2000s and 2010s. Certainly, a lack of a win against Andy Murray in their seven meetings is a missing element in the Austrian’s legacy. In their second encounter (third round of the US Open 2008), Melzer was just two points away from a straight-sets victory.
Trivia: Melzer faced his peer Federer for the first time after spending eleven years on the tour together (Wimbledon 2010). Their rivalry ended at 4-1 in favor of the Swiss. Melzer also managed to avoid being a whipping boy when facing Nadal and Đoković, finishing his career with a 1-3 record against each of them. Melzer’s younger brother, Gerald Melzer, who is nine years his junior, never came close to matching Jürgen’s achievements. However, he has made his mark in tennis history by being part of the longest two-set match ever recorded, losing two tie-break sets in Kitzbühel 2016 after an intense 2 hours and 53 minutes.

Career record: 350-334 [ 312 events ]
Career titles: 5
Highest ranking: No. 8
Best GS result:
Roland Garros (semifinal 2010)