Gerald Melzer made it to the quarter-finals at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Quito. The Austrian number two defending champion Victor Estrella Burgos added the first defeat to the clay court event in Ecuador.
Victor Estrella Burgos’s unbelievable winning streak at his favourite tournament is a cunning one,”King’s Murderer” Gerald Melzer defeated the three-time Quito champion, who entered the last sixteen with a flawless 16-0 record, 4-6,6-1 and 6-4.
After exactly two hours of play, the 27-year-old left-handed left-hander turned his second match point into an ace through the middle. With the start of the second round, Melzer had managed the match better and better. In the final set he broke Estrella Burgos to 4:2 and let nothing else burn afterwards.
In the round of the last eight, the Viennese will face the winner of the match between Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Spain/2) and local hero Roberto Quiroz, who was equipped with a wildcard by the organizer. In 2015 and 2017, Melzer had failed in the last 16 in Ecuador.
That’s for sure: In the highest capital city in the world, the tournament winner will not be named Victor Estrella Burgos for the first time. The 37-year-old veteran with a big fighter’s heart is the only player in tennis history to have won three titles at one event and no trophy at another ATP tournament.