Australian Open: Melzer misses second round of Melbourne

Gerald Melzer missed the jump into the second round of the Australian Open. This means that three out of four Austrians have already retired.

The world ranking 102. Melzer was defeated by Nikoloz Basilashvili in 2:19 hours with 3:6,4:6,6:2,3:6. In the fourth set, the Georgian won the decisive break to 4:3, from which the Viennese did not recover. Melzer had also failed in his opening match last year when he made his debut in Melbourne.

Before the left-hander Andreas Haider-Maurer and qualifier Dennis Novak had already retired on Monday. Thiem, who was seeded fifth, will play Guido Pella on Tuesday. The two-time French Open semi-finalist Thiem has lost the two comparisons with the Argentinean.