Like at the Australian Open, Dennis Novak made it into the main field of a Grand Slam event: This time the Lower Austrian played Matthias Bachinger in the Wimbledon tournament.
And why not Grigor Dimitrov again? No, if there was an easier task in round one of a Grand Slam tournament this time than at the beginning of the year in Melbourne, Dennis Novak would not complain. But after his convincing 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Matthias Bachinger, Novak said: “I don’t care about my opponent, I’m enjoying the success for once”.
In fact, the 24-year-old had really grooved in over the last few weeks – even if not on grass. In Roland Garros, too, it almost reached the main field, Adam Pavlasek had a whipped cream day in round three of qualification.
At the Challenger in Caltanissetta, however, Novak stormed into the semi-finals and had good chances against Jaume Munar. The conclusion of the Lower Austrian was accordingly positive. “I’ve been playing very consistently over the past few weeks and I always enjoy playing on grass,” Novak said. “Now I will prepare well for the main competition.”
Dominic Thiem is only a compatriot, Jürgen Melzer had the qualification against Yannick Maden on the bat, but could not use a match point. Thiem, on the other hand, used his Thursday to replay the French Open final a few weeks ago: Austria’s number one trained with Rafael Nadal, the industry leader in second place at Wimbledon.
Novak will now join Dominic Thiem’s training group in Wimbledon to take the place Sebastian Ofner held last year. Thiem coach Günter Bresnik had already announced before his departure to London that his protégé intended to practice with Dennis Novak and Ernests Gulbis. The good news is that the Latvian has also qualified for the main field.
By the way, Austrian tennis fans could get used to joint performances by Thiem and Novak: In September the Davis Cup will be played against Australia. Dennis Novak would probably be Austria’s logical number two in the Monet. And that Novak Davis Cup can, he has shown with his success against Andrey Rublev in Moscow.