Jurgen Melzer overcomes Radek Stepanek to reach final – Regions Morgan Keegan Championships 2012
Jurgen Melzer of Austria moved to his first final of the season, upsetting third seed Radek Stepanek in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semi-final of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis on Saturday. The Austrian
fought for two hours and two minutes to claim victory.
First set went with the serves until the seventh game, when Melzer clinched a breakthrough and consolidated on it take a 5-3. Stepanek failed to level the score and lost it 4-6.
Melzer hit a single ace and the same number of double fault. On the other hand, Stepanek fired four aces but he did the same thing which Melzer do, committing four double faults.
Stepanek raised his game in the second set, as he broke the Austrian in the sixth game and held his serve in the next to grab a 5-2 lead. The Czech did not allow Melzer to come back, winning the set 6-3.
The 33-year-old, Stepanek, delivered three aces and sealed 16 of the 19 first delivery points. The Czech avoided the two break threats he came across and clinched one of the two he created in the second set.
Melzer drew the first blood in the decider, taking a 3-1 lead. Stepanek hit back immediately to reduce the trail to 2-3. However, the Austrian broke him again in the sixth game to take the score to 4-2. Melzer grabbed two
of the next three to capture the set 6-3.
The Austrian improved his serve in the decider, bombarding his opponent with five aces. The left-hander put in 53 percent of the first serves, winning 14 of the 17 first and six of the 15 second delivery points.
Melzer assessed, "It was a tough match today. He's a tricky player as he knows what to do on the court. He's offensive at times, and then pulls back the speed of his strokes. I had to stay focused, I had to play my game.
I felt when the ball was in play, and I kept spin on my shots, I had a better chance of winning the point. It wasn't as good as yesterday, but you cannot expect that every time."
He added, "I've played a great tournament thus far. Reaching a final is something special. I haven't played a final since 2010."
Melzer is slated to take on fourth seed Milos Raonic in the final. Raonic prevailed over Benjamin Becker in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-final.
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