Dennis Novak left Wimbledon a little sad, but above all proud like Bolle. The Austrian from Lower Austria, who started as a qualifier, has made a name for himself in the turf Mecca with his astonishing third round entry. Novak now wants to take the momentum with him into the daily tour routine.
By Ulrike Weinrich from Wimbledon
The reward would have been McDonald – Mackenzie McDonald. It didn’t turn out anything. Maybe that’s why Dennis Novak didn’t want to celebrate his fabulous time after the third round in Wimbledon with a visit to McDonalds in the evening. “Fast food is not my thing,” said the 24-year-old after 6:7 (5:7), 6:4, 5:7, 2:6 against the former tournament finalist Milos Raonic (Canada), who will now face the world rankings 103rd McDonald (USA) in the match for the quarter-finals.
Novak, who started into the tournament as number 171 in the ATP ranking, did not want to waste too much thought on this unique but ultimately wasted opportunity. Of course, the defeat against Raonic was still worrying on Saturday because the underdog missed two chances to enter the tiebreak after the match in the third set, which was interrupted on Friday evening due to darkness.
But with a little distance Novak was able to say clearly: “I am very proud. Those were the best two weeks I’ve seen.” And they make us want more: “This was an incentive to work even harder. There is still much to improve”. From Sunday, however, the protégé of Wolfgang Thiem and Günter Bresnik will be rewarded with “a week’s holiday by the sea”. Only item on the agenda: “Relax”.
Novak, who received a wildcard for the tournament in Kitzbühel, will improve his ranking considerably and move up to the Top 120 for the first time in his career. And he knows what matters now. There’s nothing to worry about. “It is now a matter of showing this performance on a challenger where I play on Court 15 in the back,” said the right-hander, who has had experience in the past with false friends, too much laissez-faire and a persistent injury. “Now I know,” Novak emphasized, “what tennis means to me.”
It is quite possible that the Burgenlander and Bald-Wiener will have an even better view in the future. Novak, who wears contact lenses, wants to have his eyes lasered in the next few months. “I have 2.5 diopters on both sides. When I sit on the couch in the evening, I have difficulty reading the teletext,” he said. Also in the duel with Raonic, when it was already dawning over the complex in the southwest of London on Friday evening, Novak hindered his eyesight.
Novak (“I hope I will be nominated”) feels great anticipation when he thinks of the Austria Quartet’s play-off match against Australia in Graz from 14 to 16 September 2018. “There’ll be 6,000 people here, it’ll be an incredible event. I am extremely happy, because we have a great atmosphere and super nice people in the team. The players, the coaches, everything fits. It’s gonna be cool days.”
Said it and said goodbye to Wimbledon with his head held high. With a lot of self-confidence in his luggage – and the certainty that he has set his first fragrance brand not far from Wimbledon Park.