Brother's Bond Driving Melzer To New Heights

The past two months have seen an Austrian invasion in Latin America. With the ATP World Tour’s ‘Golden Swing’ coming to a close this week, Dominic Thiem has arguably made the biggest statement with his strong performances in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, but another integral member of Austria’s tennis resurgence is quietly vaulting up the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Quick, name the player with the most ATP Challenger Tour match wins and titles in 2016. If you answered Gerald Melzer, you would be correct.

The 25 year old has taken the circuit by storm in the first two months of the season, racking up Emirates ATP Rankings points throughout Latin America, from Argentina to Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Melzer found immediate success to open his 2016 campaign, winning the title on the clay of Mendoza (Argentina) in early January. Proving that his all-court game translates to multiple surfaces, he would go on to capture two more trophies, prevailing in Bucaramanga (Colombia) and on the hard courts of Morelos (Mexico) on Saturday. His 18 wins in 21 matches are tops on the ATP Challenger Tour.

“I finished last year earlier than usual and I started working with a new fitness coach [Philipp Wessely] and a new tennis coach [Marco Hammerl],” Melzer told ATPWorldTour.com following the Morelos final.  “We worked really well together in the off-season. I didn’t know what to expect from this trip. It’s been six tournaments over seven weeks.

“I wasn’t too confident to start the year, but then I started winning and round-by-round I was feeling good. I won almost all my three-set matches (7-2 record). Now I feel that if I hang in the match and do my best, I will always have a chance to win. All of a sudden I won three of six tournaments. I’m more than happy with that.”

It has been a long journey to a career-high World No. 116 and following a disappointing end to 2015, the left-hander says he owes a lot to big brother and former World No. 8 Jurgen as he hurtles towards the Top 100.

Sibling rivalry? Not in the Melzer household.

“After my brother’s injury, he came on court and helped us and tried to be there as much as possible. That was pretty cool. He had shoulder surgery in November and is trying to rehab and come back. I’m hoping we can play some more together on tour. That would be really nice.”

At Wimbledon last year, their tennis nightmares were realised when they were drawn to face each other in the first round of qualifying. It marked their first competitive match and Jurgen, who would prevail in straight sets, labeled it as “the worst tennis day of my life”.

Gerald echoed the same sentiment when reflecting on his brother’s mentorship over the years. On 11 January, with his trajectory pointing skyward following his title run in Mendoza, the Vienna native finally passed Jurgen in the Emirates ATP Rankings, but he was quick to dismiss any significance to the achievement. Gerald points to a bond stronger than anything that transpires between the lines.

“Nope, it doesn’t mean anything to me because there’s no rivalry at all. He was injured and could not play, so his ranking was dropping. That doesn’t mean anything to me. Zero.

“When I was younger, I was always thinking that I’m not so bad, but where Jurgen was (in the Top 10), was just a different world. It was so far away. I was hoping we would travel to the same tournaments and play Davis Cup together one day. That was so far away too. Just reaching that now was something I never expected and it’s something that makes me really happy.”

Last season saw Gerald explode onto the ATP World Tour scene with a run to the semi-finals in Munich as a qualifier. He won five matches in seven days, including a three-set victory over Thiem in the quarters. But with success comes greater expectations, and while Gerald says he struggled with the mounting pressure, he learned a lot from the experience.

“Munich was my biggest result ever. After that, I felt I could go for it as I didn’t have anything to defend for the rest of the summer. But the expectations were higher than they should have been. I felt more pressure to win more matches and get to the Top 100. I learned a lot from the last year and it’s helping me take the next step in my career.”

Now, after seven weeks on the road, Gerald is happy to go home for the first time in 2016 and spend time with family. The Top 100 is well within his grasp.

“Every player’s first goal is to get to the Top 100 and get into the main draw in the Grand Slams and ATP World Tour events. I’m in a good position for the rest of the year. It’s what I’m working for.”