Michael Berrer halts Jurgen Melzer to reach the semis – PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2012
German star, Michael Berrer, hit back after a set down to upset the Austrian qualifier, Jurgen Melzer, at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2012 on Friday. He clobbered a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the 30-year-old to advance into the semi-finals at this ATP World Tour
250 series event taking place in Zagreb, Croatia.
World number 105, Berrer, raised the bar of his game after the opening set and ultimately conquered the Austrian number one in a 123-minutes duel. Both veterans previously faced each other at the Black Forest Open in 2001 and after earning this success,
the German not only avenged his defeat but also booked a place in the final four.
"I knew it’d be a very difficult match and I’d have to play on top," said Berrer of the quarter-final meeting. "In the beginning I was 1-4 down and I felt like, I’m playing not bad, but he’s just too good. But then I got a little bit more offensive, tried
to get him away from the baseline, pushed him back a little bit, and then I went to chip and charge returns. I was able to put him down a little bit."
A former world number eight, Melzer, made quick in-roads as he drew the first blood in the fourth game and eventually went 4-1 up. Regardless of losing his edge in the seventh game, the Austrian earned the breakthrough in the last game and bagged the opener
with a 7-5 win. The set saw both contestants seeking several break opportunities but Melzer capitalised on two out of six chances to clinch.
The left-handed Austrian continued displaying exceptional skills in the following set. He smacked five aces and produced a better first serve share of 74 percent. Melzer also amazingly clicked 14 out of 20 points on it. However, he failed to find any break
chance.
Berrer on the other side of net took full advantage of this and easily swiped in entire serves. He then found the breakthrough in the third game and ultimately sealed the equaliser by winning six games to four.
The highly enthusiastic German went berserk into the final set and stroke out the opening four games in a row before Melzer could come into his senses. Apart from losing his serve in the eighth game, Berrer held his serve once more and finished the set with
a 6-4 score line.
Next up for the 31-year-old is the third seed Mikhail Youzhny who battled past the local star, Ivo Karlovic, in thee set thriller to set-up this meeting.