Vienna Wednesday Preview

Top seed and defending champion Jurgen Melzer, the No. 1 Austrian on the ATP World Tour, along with No. 2 seed and last year’s finalist Marin Cilic of Croatia, are among four matches on Wednesday at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy. Melzer is the top seed for the first time in his career in an ATP World Tour tournament. In the final first round match remaining, Germans Bjorn Phau and Florian Mayer are the first singles match on Centre Court. Mayer won the previous ATP World Tour meeting in the first round of Halle in June 2006.
In the next match, Melzer looks for his second win in as many meetings against Lukasz Kubot of Poland. In their previous meeting here in the second round four years ago Melzer prevailed in three sets. Melzer is ranked a career-high No. 12 and he’s looking to earn his first ATP World Tour singles title of the year and become the first back-to-back winner in Vienna since Ivan Ljubicic in 2005-06.

In the evening session, Cilic and Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic meet for the second time this year. In February, the Croat won 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of Zagreb en route to a repeat title effort. Cilic is a two-time winner on the ATP World Tour this year while Hajek is trying to reach his second quarter-final of the season.

In the final match, on the rise German Tobias Kamke takes on No. 7 seed and countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber for the second time. Kohlschreiber prevailed in four sets in the first round of this year’s US Open.  Kohlschreiber, the top German on the ATP World Tour, is looking to reach the quarter-finals or better for the third straight year in Vienna. He was a semi-finalist in 2008-09.

WEDNESDAY HEAD-TO-HEADS  - In Order of Play

Centre Court

Bjorn Phau (GER) vs Florian Mayer (GER)  Mayer Leads 1-0
06 Halle (Germany) Grass R32 Florian Mayer 7-5 1-6 7-6(8)
Other Meetings:
03 Eckental CH (Germany) Carpet R16 Bjorn Phau 6-2 6-2
05 Sunrise CH (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Bjorn Phau 0-6 6-4 6-2

Phau FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
QF: Bucharest (l Chela)
YTD W-L: 8-12
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 4, 1979
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 89

• Phau, 31, is making his first appearance in Vienna since a first round loss five years ago…He was the last direct entry into the main draw
• He enters with an 8-12 match record on the ATP World Tour this season and his best result was the quarter-finals last month in Bucharest where he lost to eventual champion Juan Ignacio Chela…Also has a 21-11 mark in Challengers with two titles in May on clay in Biella (d. Bolelli) Alessandria (d. Berlocq), Italy…Has reached five other quarter-finals, including past two weeks in Rennes and Orleans
• He comes in ranked No. 89 and looking to finish in the Top 100 for the first time since 2006 when he was No. 78…The previous year he was No. 82, his first Top 100 year-end ranking

Mayer FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
F: Stockholm (l Federer); SF: Hamburg (l Golubev); QF: Rotterdam (W/O vs Djokovic); Stuttgart (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 23-16
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 5, 1983
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 40

• Mayer, 27, is coming off his third career ATP World Tour final (0-3) in Stockholm on Sunday as he fell to World No. 2 Roger Federer in straight sets…His other runner-up showings came in Sopot in 2005 (l. to Monfils) and in Sopot in ’06 (l. to Davydenko)
• He is playing in Vienna for the fourth time (2-3 record), reaching the second round in 2004 and ‘06
• He enters with a 23-16 match record on the season (13-11 on hard) and at No. 40 he is the No. 2 ranked German (behind No. 35 Philipp Kohlschreiber)…He is trying to finish in the Top 50 for the first time since 2004 when he ended the season at a year-end best No. 35
• His other best results this year are the semi-finals in Hamburg (l. to Golubev) and quarter-finals in Rotterdam (W/O vs. Djokovic) and Stuttgart (l. to Monfils)

(1) Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL) Melzer Leads 1-0
06 Vienna (Austria) Hard R16 Jurgen Melzer 6-4 3-6 6-1
Other Meeting:
01 Linz CH (Austria) Clay R32 Jurgen Melzer 6-1 6-2

Melzer FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
F: Hamburg (l Golubev); SF: Zagreb (l Cilic); Dubai (l Youzhny); Roland Garros (l Nadal); QF: Auckland (l Clement); Rotterdam (l Davydenko); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Almagro); Stuttgart (l Montanes); Umag (l Seppi); Bangkok (l Nieminen); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (l Monaco)
YTD W-L: 46-24
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: May 22, 1981
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 12

• Melzer, 29, the top Austrian in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings and defending champion, is at a career-high No. 12 this week (first set on Oct. 11)
• Has a 16-9 career mark in Vienna and playing here for the 11th time in 12 years (except 2000)
• He has appeared in the quarter-finals or better 11 times this year… He reached his lone ATP World Tour final in Hamburg (l. to Golubev) on July 25…He is 2-7 lifetime in ATP World Tour finals
• He owns a 46-24 match record on the year (25-14 on hard) and it’s the first time in his career he’s won 40 matches in a season
• In his last tournament at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, he posted the biggest win of his career over No. 1 Nadal in the third round before losing to Argentine Juan Monaco
• He also advanced to the semi-finals in Zagreb (l. to Cilic), Dubai (l. to Youzhny) and Roland Garros (l. to Nadal - best Grand Slam result)…Afterwards broke into the Top 20 for the first time at No. 16 (from No. 27) on June 7
• In July, he captured the Wimbledon doubles crown (w/Petzschner) and the duo are No. 7 in the ATP Doubles Team Ranking…They already have qualified for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London…He is also the only player on the ATP World Tour this year to rank in the Top 15 in singles (No. 12) and doubles (No. 6)

LEFT-HANDERS IN TOP 50 – Melzer is one of five left-handers in the Top 30 South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings:
No. 1 Rafael Nadal
No. 7 Fernando Verdasco
No. 12 Jurgen Melzer
No. 27 Thomaz Bellucci
No. 30 Feliciano Lopez

Kubot FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
F: Costa Do Sauipe (l Ferrero); QF: Doha (l Troicki); Casablanca (l Starace)
YTD W-L: 15-24
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 16, 1982
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 66

• Kubot, 28, broke a seven-match first round losing streak Tuesday with a 64 64 win over American James Blake…His last win came at Wimbledon in June (d. Kavcic, l. to Petzschner in five sets)…He is making his third appearance in Vienna (2-2 record)…He won a round four years ago
• He injured his left ankle at Wimbledon and returned almost two months later in Cincinnati
• He enters with a 15-24 match record on the season (6-10 on hard) and in February he advanced to his second career ATP World Tour final in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil (l. to Ferrero)
• He opened the year with a quarter-final in Doha (l. to Troicki) and followed with a Grand Slam-best fourth round at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic)…He became the first Polish player to reach a Slam fourth round or better since Wojtek Fibak at Roland Garros in 1982
• He reached a career-high No. 41 on April 12 after getting to quarter-finals in Casablanca (l. to Starace)
• He is the No. 2 seed this week in doubles (w/Marach) and ranked No. 5 in the latest ATP Doubles Team Rankings…He is trying to qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London for the second straight year

Jan Hajek (CZE) vs (2) Marin Cilic (CRO)  Cilic Leads 1-0
10 Zagreb (Croatia) Hard R32 Marin Cilic 6-2 6-2
Other Meeting:
05 Czech Republic F6 (Czech Republic) Hard QF Jan Hajek 6-3 6-4

Hajek FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
QF: Munich (l Youzhny)
YTD W-L: 13-19
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: August 7, 1983
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 98

• Hajek, 27, advanced to the second round for the second straight year on Monday with a 60 62 win over Spaniard Pere Riba
• He enters with a 13-19 match record on the season (4-9 on hard) and his best ATP World Tour result came on clay in May when he reached the quarter-finals in Munich (l. to Youzhny)
• In occasional Challenger play, has compiled an 8-4 record with title in Prostejov, Czech Republic in June (d. Stepanek)
• He is ranked No. 98 this week and he is trying to finish in the Top 100 for the second time in his career (No. 76 in 2006)

Cilic FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Chennai (d Wawrinka); Zagreb (d Berrer); F: Munich (l Youzhny); SF: Australian Open (l Murray); Washington (l Nalbandian); QF: Dubai (l Melzer); Metz (l Kohlschreiber)
YTD W-L: 37-19
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 28, 1988
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 14

• Cilic, 22, is making his third appearance in Vienna (4-2 mark) and last year he reached the final as a wild card (l. to Melzer)
• Has a 2-1 record in ATP World Tour finals this season...He opened the year with a repeat title in Chennai (d. Wawrinka) and the following month he won title again on home soil in Zagreb (d. Berrer)...He also advanced to his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open (d. Roddick, l. to Murray) and afterwards broke into the Top 10 on Feb. 1…He reached a career-high No. 9 on Feb. 22 and spent 11 consecutive weeks in Top 10, peaking at No. 9 for eight of them
• He enters with a 37-19 match record on the season, including a 27-12 mark on hard courts…He jumped off to an 18-2 start through first week of March but since mid-March is only 19-17
• Overall he has reached the quarter-finals or better seven times this year

Tobias Kamke (GER) vs (7) Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)        Kohlschreiber Leads 1-0
10 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-4

Kamke FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 6-6
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 21, 1986
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 72

• Kamke, 24, has made one of the biggest jumps into the Top 100 this year, climbing from No. 254 at the end of 2009 to a career-best No. 72 this week
• He made his tournament debut on Tuesday and defeated countryman Matthias Bachinger 64 64
• He has compiled a 35-16 match record in Challenger play while winning titles in Granby (d. Raonic) on Aug. 1 and Tiburon (Calif.) 10 days ago (d. Harrison)…Also runner-up in Baton Rouge (l. to Anderson) in April and Furth (l. to Haase) in June
• He has a 6-6 mark in ATP World Tour play and he’s trying to reach his first career quarter-final …He qualified at Wimbledon and advanced to the third round with wins over Garcia-Lopez and Seppi (l. to No. 10 Tsonga)…Also qualified at Roland Garros (d. Robert, l. to Montanes)

Kohlschreiber FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
SF: Auckland (l Clement); Metz (l Simon); QF: San Jose (l Istomin); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Ferrer); Munich (l Baghdatis); Halle (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Toronto (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 36-22
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: October 16, 1983
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 35

• Kohlschreiber, 27, the top German on the ATP World Tour, is looking to reach the quarter-finals or better for the eighth time this year, and for the third straight year in Vienna (last two years he advanced to the semi-finals)…On Monday he opened with a 60 63 win over Falla…He has a 6-2 career mark here
• His best result was the semi-finals in Auckland (l. to Clement) in January and also a quarter-finalist in  San Jose (l. to Istomin), Monte-Carlo (l. to Ferrer), Munich (l. to Baghdatis) and Halle (l. to Federer)
• He has reached 3rd Rd. six other times (incl.  three of four Grand Slam events, except US Open)…Has fallen 1st Rd. or 2nd Rd. just five times
• Began the year at No. 26 and comes in No. 35 (his personal-best is No. 22 on Sept. 28, 2009)