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.
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.
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