In 2008, Melzer reached the second round of his first three tournaments, including the 2008 Australian Open. He again failed to secure back-to-back wins, compiling a 3–9 record in his next nine tournaments and putting him out of the top 100 since April 2003. It was not until the 2008 Hypo Group Tennis International that he recorded back-to-back wins by reaching the quarterfinals, losing to Igor Kunitsyn in three sets. He carried his good performance through the 2008 French Open with a third-round exit to Frenchman Gaël Monfils, having led two sets to one. On grass, he was able to reach the quarterfinals of the 2008 Ordina Open and the third round at Wimbledon. He then returned to clay at the 2008 Austrian Open and reached his seventh final, but lost once again to Juan Martín del Potro. Melzer made a good performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by reaching the final eight, losing to eventual gold medalist Rafael Nadal. He then had a good performance by reaching the third rounds of the 2008 Pilot Pen Tennis and the 2008 US Open. Melzer made a good year end with quarterfinal results in the 2008 Thailand Open and the 2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy, which put him back to the top 40.