J. Melzer – G. Melzer

A very interesting match between the Melzer brothers will take place in the Kitzbuhel quarterfinals, with Jurgen rated as a 1.75 favorite by the bookies to defeat his younger sibling in their home tournament.

Jurgen Melzer came back on the tour last month after a 10 month injury layoff due to a shoulder injury. Not much was expected of him, considering that he is 35 years old and he wasn`t playing his best tennis for a long while before the injury. However, it seems that the long break actually did wonders to Jurgen’s game, as he came out strong with 4 wins in 4 matches (excluding a retirement in his second match). Here in Kitzbuhel, Jurgen defeated Taro Daniel and Dominic Thiem in 2 sets, playing some really good tennis against Thiem. Sure, Dominic was not at his best, but Jurgen kept his nerve and did what he had to do.

Gerald Melzer is having the best week of his career at ATP level, winning 2 matches on the main draw against Montanes (3 sets) and Gimeno Traver (clear straight sets win). Despite reaching his career high ranking of No.107 last month, Gerald Melzer has been in horrific form prior to Kitzbuhel, losing 5 matches in a row agaisnt mediocre opposition, barely winning a couple of sets. Much better tennis from him this week, but it has to be said that he beat Montanes by a hair in the first round and Gimeno Traver was horrible in the second round.

Bet on J. Melzer vs G. Melzer and get your 100% (100€) exclusive bonus at Ohmbet!

Jurgen leads the Head 2 Head 1-0. The two players met once before, last year in the Wimbledon qualies, with Jugen winning 6-1 6-4. The grass helped the older brother back than, as Gerald is not comfortable on the green. Now the surface, red clay, suits both players.

I was very impressed with Jurgen’s level this week. I expected him to need a few months to get his rhythm back, but he`s playing some of the best tennis he played in years. The long layoff seems to have helped him, maybe the banged up shoulder was the reason he did not perform in the last few years and now he can make one last push in his career.

As for Gerald Melzer, he had a great year on the challenger tour but entered Kitzbuhel in poor form, he never performed on an ATP stage before and wasn`t that fantastic in the first two rounds. Good, but not great.

This is obviously a special match up, especially as it`s played in Austria – but I feel that the particularity of the match helps Jurgen. He`s the older, more accomplished player, so the pressure will be on Gerald – who was demolished by Jurgen last year in Wimbledon. Gerald will hope that his brother won`t be able to play 3 consecutive matches at the same level after the long break and I think that is indeed a risk – but one which I am willing to take, as Jurgen showed no signs of fatigue against a grinder like Thiem in the previous round.

Jurgen Melzer simply played the (much) better tennis this week, he`s still the better player of the two and I see no reason why he should not defeat his younger brother. My tip is Jurgen Melzer to win. Seven units seems like a proper stake for this bet. Prediction: Jurgen Melzer – Gerald Melzer 7-6 6-4.

Pick: Jurgen Melzer
Odds: 1.79 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 5.53
Event date: 21 July