By Chris Oddo | Wednesday July 20, 2016

 

Jurgen Melzer took out top-seeded Dominic Thiem to reach the quarterinals at the Generali Open.

Photo Source: Generali Open

Jurgen Melzer’s return from a 10-month hiatus due to a shoulder surgery is going pretty well, thank you. The 35-year-old world No. 421 (former world No. 8 if you’re scoring at home) eased past top-seeded and top Austrian Dominic Thiem, 6-3, 7-5, to set up a quarterfinal clash with his brother Gerald.

More: Kohlschreiber knocked off by Khachanov in Kitzbuhel

Gerald Melzer, 26, got his first tour-level victory of the year on Tuesday when he defeated Albert Montanes. On Wednesday he made it two in a row when he defeated Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-3, 6-1.

The Melzer brothers have never met at the tour-level before.

Jurgen improved to 3-0 on the season with his win over Thiem. He also won a singles match in Davis Cup last weekend, before defeating Japan's Taro Daniel in straight sets on Tuesday. This week's event is Melzer's first tournament since qualifying for the U.S. Open in January.

The draw is wide open at Kitzbuhel, as the top three seeds fell on Wednesday. Second-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber was knocked off by Russia’s Karen Khachanov, while third-seeded Marcel Granollers fell to Adam Pavlasek.

Wednesday’s seed carnage leaves Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi as the highest-remaining player left in the draw. The world No.48 knocked off Spain’s Robert Carballes Baena, 6-2, 6-2.