Davis Cup: Day 1: Team spirit is in the foreground in Graz – on both sides

Austria will go into the last two days of the Davis Cup match against Australia as the favourite. But somehow all sides are satisfied with the start in Graz.

By Jens Huiber from Graz

2-0 after the first day, Stefan Koubek had certainly hoped, but only the first point of Dominic Thiem against Jordan Thompson was to be expected. The dominant idea of Austria’s number one gave buddy Dennis Novak an earlier deployment time than anticipated, Novak made the best of it after some initial problems.

Why? Perhaps because the team spirit in the Austrian team seems to have reached an all-time high. Dominic Thiem and Dennis Novak, Jürgen’s brother Gerald Melzer and Oliver Marach, who is considered one of the nicest men on the ATP tour, as well as the Davis Cup all-time great Jürgen, certainly contributed to this.

The fact that Alexander Peya and Philipp Oswald are still two absolute team players speaks for the mood and spirit of departure in Austrian tennis.

Caution is still required – but for those who put Dominic Thiem and Alex de Minaur’s two performances side by side, it is hardly conceivable that the Australian will tear something against Thiem on Sunday.

Whether Thiem will go on Sunday or officially finish his 2018 clay court season with his win over Thompson depends on the outcome of the double.

The support of the audience was classified by the Australians as not unfair, but Davis Cup-typical, Dominic Thiem perceived every nuance of the diverse chorus of encouragement. “If you’re ahead, you don’t care,” says the Lichtenwörther. And according to the course of the game against Thompson, Thiem didn’t even care.

Lleyton Hewitt on the other side doesn’t have to worry too much about the delay after day one. The Australians will be represented in the world group next year; if they lose in Graz, at most they will lose.

The Australians are also in a good mood, Hewitt was proud of his “boys” despite his smooth defeats in the end. And did not spare praise for the team’s spiritual leader, Australian legend Tony Roche. Who just wouldn’t be sitting here at the press conference instead of him, Hewitt, because he won’t talk to the journalists.

However, two things frustrated the Playing Captain, who may be playing himself into the doubles match on Saturday. Firstly, the absence of his top player Nick Kyrgios. This is really “frustrating”. But Hewitt, the traditionalist, feels even worse about the new world order in the Davis Cup: four singles to two winning sets, then only the doubles – this has nothing to do with the real Davis Cup.