Marathon man Melzer claims second Vienna title

Vienna :

Jurgen Melzer made an heroic turnaround from the verge of defeat Sunday, defeating compatriot Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to win the Austria Tennis Trophy for a second straight year.

The top seed and world number 12 needed almost an hour per set as he held off a ferocious series of charges from his 157th-ranked home compatriot, finally ending on his first match point in a shade over two and three-quarter hours.

Haider-Maurer had served for the upset leading a set and 5-4 but fell victim to a foot fault and a pair of double-faults in the key game.

The dramatic contest was the first all-Austrian final on the ATP since 1995 when Thomas Muster defeated Gilbert Schaller in Bucharest. It was the first all-Austrian final in Vienna in 22 years, when Horst Skoff beat Muster.

Melzer, a French Open semi-finalist last spring at age 29, is the first player to repeat as champion here since Ivan Ljubicic in 2005-2006.

The Vienna winner improved his career finals record to 3-7 as he showed that he would not be denied despite nursing an elbow problem from the semi-finals.

Haider-Maurer, a lucky loser from qualifying, got into the main draw from a pullout and defeated 43-year-old comeback candidate Thomas Muster in the first round to start his improbable run.