Introduction
Gerald Melzer (born 13 July 1990) is a professional Austrian tennis player. As a qualifier, he reached the semifinals of Munich in 2015. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 68 in November 2016.
He is the younger brother of top Austrian tennis player Jürgen Melzer (hence his nickname, Mini Melts) and is the son of Rudolf Melzer, an Austrian businessman and mayor of Deutsch-Wagram, and Michaela, a saleswoman.
Career
Gerald Melzer has primarily spent his time on the Futures circuit, while also playing challengers and several doubles events with his brother. He began playing on the tour in 2007, competing in tournaments in Austria as well as Futures tournaments in Africa. He has had more success playing doubles, partnering with his brother to win a challenger in Graz, Austria. Gerald faced his brother, Jürgen, in the first round of the 2015 Wimbledon qualifying tournament, and lost in straight sets. Jürgen described it as the "worst tennis day of my life and I hope we will never play each other again."
At the 2017 Australian Open, Melzer lost in the first round to Australian Alex De Minaur in five sets. He held a match point in the fourth set, but was unable to close it out.
ATP Challenger and ITF Future titles
Singles: 18
| Challengers (7) |
| Futures (11) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2010 | Bujumbura, Burundi | Futures | Clay | Bart Govaerts | 6–2, 6–4 | |
| Sep 2010 | Kigali, Rwanda | Futures | Clay | Stanislav Vovk | 7–6, 6–0 | |
| Sep 2010 | Kampala, Uganda | Futures | Clay | Takanyi Garanganga | 6–4, 6–4 | |
| May 2011 | Orange Park, United States | Futures | Clay | Daniel Garza | 1–1, ret. | |
| Oct 2011 | Bujumbura, Burundi | Futures | Clay | Ruan Roelofse | 6–4, 6–2 | |
| Nov 2011 | Kigali, Rwanda | Futures | Clay | Lukas Jastraunig | 6–2, 6–4 | |
| Feb 2012 | Santiago, Chile | Futures | Clay | Guillermo Rivera Aránguiz | 7–6, 6–3 | |
| May 2012 | Orange Park, United States | Futures | Clay | Tennys Sandgren | 7–6, 6–3 | |
| Nov 2012 | Bujumbura, Burundi | Futures | Clay | Alessandro Bega | 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Nov 2012 | Kigali, Rwanda | Futures | Clay | Sherif Sabry | 6–4, 6–4 | |
| Sep 2013 | Kigali, Rwanda | Futures | Clay | Lukas Jastraunig | 6–1, 6–1 | |
| Feb 2014 | Morelos, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Victor Estrella Burgos | 6–1, 6–4 | |
| Jan 2016 | Mendoza, Argentina | Challenger | Clay | Axel Michon | 4–6, 6–4, 6–0 | |
| Jan 2016 | Bucaramanga, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Paolo Lorenzi | 6–3, 6–1 | |
| Feb 2016 | Morelos, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Alejandro González | 7–6, 6–3 | |
| Oct 2016 | Mohammedia, Morocco | Challenger | Clay | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Oct 2017 | Lima, Peru | Challenger | Clay | Jozef Kovalík | 7–5, 7–6 | |
| Nov 2017 | Guayaquil, Ecuador | Challenger | Clay | Facundo Bagnis | 6–3, 6–1 |
Doubles: 16
| Challengers (4) |
| Futures (12) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2008 | Graz, Austria | Challenger | Clay | Jürgen Melzer | Julien Jeanpierre Nicolas Renavand |
1–6, 7–6, [10–4] | |
| Jul 2012 | Tampere, Finland | Challenger | Clay | Michael Linzer | Niels Desein André Ghem |
6–1, 7–6 | |
| Feb 2014 | Morelos, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Andrej Martin | Alejandro Moreno Figueroa Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela |
6–2, 6–4 | |
| Jul 2017 | Cortina, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Guido Andreozzi | Steven de Waard Ben McLachlan |
6–2, 7–6 |
Singles performance timeline
Current till 2018 US Open.
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | Q2 | A | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 2 | 0–2 |
| French Open | A | A | A | Q1 | Q2 | Q1 | 1R | Q3 | Q1 | Q1 | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | Q3 | Q3 | Q2 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| US Open | A | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | A | Q1 | Q3 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0 / 3 | 0–3 |
| National representation | ||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | A | A | A | A | Z1 | Z1 | Z1 | Z1 | PO | 0 / 0 | 4–5 | |
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||
| Tournaments | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 29 | |
| Overall Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 4–4 | 3–8 | 9–9 | 4–6 | 0–0 | 20–34 | |
| Year-end ranking | 438 | 349 | 281 | 202 | 162 | 166 | 68 | 100 | 244 | 37% | ||