ATP Generali Open: Gerald Melzer in Kitzbühel qualification failed

Gerald Melzer has been eliminated in the qualifying final for the Generali Open 2018 in Kitzbühel. The left-hander defeated Martin Klizan smoothly in two sets.

You can’t joke with Martin Klizan. Especially when the Slovakian has been preparing for the 2018 Generali Open on the courts of the Kitzbühel Tennis Club for days. Gerald Melzer would have liked to do the same – or warmly played himself at the ATP Challenger tournament in Padua – alone, a torn ribbon thwarted the plans of the Lower Austrian.

Against Blaz Rola, Melzer benefited from his opponent’s task, with the 1:6 and 3:6 against Klizan it was obvious that the Austrian Davis Cup player was severely handicapped. Any further day off would have been good for Melzer. But even then, Martin Klizan is an opponent that is difficult to defeat.

For Gerald Melzer, however, the 2018 Kitzbühel adventure is not yet over: he could still slip into the main field as a lucky loser. Jurij Rodionov has already arrived there: With a convincing performance against Lorenzo Sonego, the 19-year-old won his first place in the 28 grid in Kitzbühel.

Here the qualification tableau in Kitzbühel