Dennis Novak is in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. In the press conference after the 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) against Peter Polansky from Canada, the Lower Austrian spoke about his feelings of happiness – and his relationship to the pitch.
By Ulrike Weinrich from Wimbledon
Question: “Dennis Novak, that was a great victory. In the third set, you had to fend off three set points in the tiebreak. How do you feel?”
Dennis Novak: “I’ve always stuck with it. Until 4-2 in the third set, I was the clearly better player and felt really good. I had extremely many break balls for the double-break in the third set. I think if I do that, it’ll be a little easier for me. But I’m very happy because I got through in three sets. And I won my first match in a major main field competition. It couldn’t be better. It’s a great feeling.”
Question: “How big is this step for you personally?”
Dennis Novak: “Great. Not just for the world ranking points or the money. If I play well and retrieve my performances, then I know that I still belong before. I think I’ve proven that in the last few weeks. Of course, I have to work harder to get more out of it.”
Question: “Does it mean anything to you that you succeeded in doing so in Wimbledon?”
Dennis Novak: “Of course everyone talks about Wimbledon. When I played here with the Juniors seven years ago, I suffered a really bitter defeat in the first round – I think 13:15 in the third set or so. And already then I thought to myself, some day I want to play with the men here and win a round – or even more. But actually the Australian Open is my favorite tournament.”
Question: “Now the Frenchman Lucas Pouille is waiting for you on Wednesday. How well do you know him?”
Dennis Novak: “I have really known him for a long time, already from junior times. I’ve trained with him before. I know his coach very well, he’s always very nice to me. And Günter (Bresnik, editor’s note) knows him very well, so of course I’ll be able to get a lot of information.”
Question: “Dominic Thiem said that you had the feeling for the grass court game in your cradle. Is that true?”
Dennis Novak: “I think it might be like that. My backhand is pretty flat, and that comes towards you on grass. Whenever I play on grass, I enjoy it extremely. You’re always kind of motivated, no matter how you played before. I will always remember that I won my first major main round on grass…”
Question: “Dominic also said that you could even give him a few tips for a good grass court game. Is that so?”
Dennis Novak: “No need to talk about Domi, he’s a world-class player and one of the best – with one of the best coaches. Maybe he doesn’t have the game on grass because he has big backlash movements and plays a lot of spin. But he reached the round of 16 here last year. You have to do that first. I don’t think I can teach him anything on grass.”
Question: “Who are you keeping your fingers crossed for at the World Cup?”
Dennis Novak (smiling): “England!”