Wake Forest Athletics
W-S Open Finals: Melzer takes Title
8/24/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug 24, 2013
Winston-Salem Open Official Site
By Ben Helms, Wake Forest Athletic Communications
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Jurgen Melzer is the 2013 Winston-Salem Open champion after Gael Monfils retired in the second set of the final match.
Melzer started the match off well, breaking Monfils on his first opportunity to go up 2-0, and holding serve for the rest of the set to take the lead.
Struggling with a left hip issue this week, Monfils re-aggravated the injury early in the second set and was visibly in pain. The Frenchman, who was the big crowd favorite, lost his service game to fall behind 1-2. On the next changeover, Monfils received a medical timeout for treatment and decided to retire, making Melzer the 2013 champion.
"I tried to be aggressive and come to the net as much as I can... Nobody wants to win a final like that. You want to be out there competing, but in the end you take the title," said Melzer.
Melzer said that this week's tournament was perfect preparation for the US Open next week in New York.
It can't get any better. You win a title, you win five matches in a row. [I'm] playing well, that's the most important thing. I feel like I'm playing great tennis at the moment. You cannot be happier coming into a Grand Slam like that," said Melzer.
