ATP: Novak plays in the Viennese hearts

Dennis Novak played his way into the second round of the ATP-500 tournament in Vienna with a fiercely contested victory over Thomas Fabbiano, provoking ecstasy among home fans.

Maximilian Kisanyik reports from the Vienna City Hall

Dennis Novak made the beginning of the Austrian trio in his match against Thomas Fabbiano. This duel should remind the fans of the qualifying finals here in Vienna, where the two players had already met before – with the better end for the Austrian. Fabbiano moved into the main draw as a lucky loser after Grigor Dimitrov’s rejection. The NextGen Court was filled to the last seat and 1150 fans created a fantastic atmosphere. The 24-year-old’s performance was already shaking at the side square.

Visibly impressed by the atmosphere, Novak made a nervous start. So he had to take a break in the second service game to 1:2. The local hero found his way back into the game, however, was dangerous with his forehand and forced a tiebreak. The darling of the crowd put all his strength into the strokes and secured the first set with 7:6 (4).

Novak completely overslept the beginning of the second round and was soon trailing 0:3. However, the fans did not give up and pushed their protégé back into the match, who served for the match at a score of 6:5 and fought his way into the next round with 7:6 (4) and 7:5. The man from Wiener Neustadt was filled with tears of joy, overwhelmed by his feelings. There are so many things in my head, but it was great fun. The atmosphere was incredible,”Novak explained at the press conference after the match.

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