Walking in Memphis

A late bloomer on the men's tour, Jürgen Melzer, has had some impressive achievements in 2010, his good results carrying him all the way to number 8 in the ranking in April 2011. He struggled to keep it going though, and, as his form started to fade midway through last season, he was eventually pushed outside the top 40 earlier this month. However, after a dream week, the Austrian seems to have finally gotten his career back on track with a surprising run to the Memphis title. 

Melzer embarked on a rollercoaster though, living on the edge in all of his matches. After barely escaping big servers Denis Istomin and Ivan Dodig in the first two rounds by winning the decider in a tiebreak, he went on to tackle number 1 seeded American, John Isner, in the quarterfinals. Showing the kind of display that took him to the semifinals of the 2010 French Open, Jürgen broke decisively in the first set, to then seal a 6-3,7-6 victory with yet another excellently played tiebreaker. Carrying on a great momentum, the Austrian succumbed tricky Radek Stepanek in the last four, qualifying for a final act showdown against red-hot Milos Raonic. The Canadian, a winner of two titles already this year, was the favourite. However, his brilliance in key moments proved vital for Melzer who came out on top after two tight sets, collecting thus his fourth career crown.
An excellent doubles player with three Grand Slam trophies to his name (at Wimbledon 2010 and US Open 2011 with Philipp Petzeschner and at last year's Wimbledon with Iveta Benesova), he strengthens his singles credentials with this result, at the age of 30 making his return into the top 20, at 19th. 

Jurgen Melzer gave another proof of his brilliance, overcoming Canadian Milos Raonic to claim the crown in Memphis.

photos: AP (x2), APA