That was certainly not the way Jürgen Melzer wanted his Singles career to end. He had to withdraw from the Erste Bank Open 500 shortly before his match against Kevin Anderson (RSA/2) on Wednesday due to a sickness (gastric flu). Thus, his great career doesn’t end with a match but with a withdrawal.
The 37-year old Melzer’s condition worsened throughout the day so that an appearance on the centercourt in the evening was unthinkable in the end. Instead, Melzer went to the hospital to get himself thoroughly checked through.
Melzer will be honored for his great career at some point during this week.
“Obviously, it’s very sad for Jürgen, having his Singles career end like this. But his condition worsened during the afteroon”, said tournament director Herwig Straka.
On Thursdsy, Melzer also had to withdraw from the doubles. He and his partner Philipp Oswald will be replaced by Lucky Losers Jamie Cerretani (USA)/Denis Kudla (USA).