Gerald Melzer has reached the eighth-finals of the ATP tournament in Quito despite a false start. The Austrian number two will now face defending champions Victor Estrella Burgos from the Dominican Republic at the Ecuador Open.
In his opening match, 27-year-old Melzer defeated the Italian Marco Cecchinato (ATP no. 99), who was better placed in the world rankings by one position, 6:4,6:2. It was the Viennese’s first victory on the Tour 2018. Melzer had his match in the Davis Cup against Belarus in St. Gallen this weekend. Pölten (5:0) won
Melzer took a 4-1 draw with Cecchinato in the first duel and took the first set after a good 35 minutes. As a result, the left-hander kept control of the red ashes and only allowed two break-outs in total – of which the man from Palermo used one.
The next opponent of Melzer, who has already failed twice in Ecuador in the next round (2015 and 2017), is Estrella Burgos. The 37-year-old is called “King of Quito” because he has won the $561,345 event three times in a row. This makes Estrella Burgos the only player in tennis history to win three titles at one event and not a trophy at another ATP tournament.
Head to head with the experienced Dominican Republican, it’s 2-2. Last time Melzer won last year in Sao Paulo on sand 6:2,7:6. The sixth seeded Burgos Estrella is currently world ranking-86. 12 places ahead of Austria’s Davis Cup players.