Day one of the Davis Cup between Austria and Australia in Graz brought the dream result for the hosts. This was not the only reason why the spectators went home satisfied.
Davis Cup captain – this is a job that can bring a lot of joy, but also trouble. In the case of Lleyton Hewitt and Stefan Koubek, however, the following applies above all: The job brings with it a job from which the two team bosses can only see the entire court under extreme dislocation. The referee’s chair is righteously positioned close to the net, but the benches are clearly shifted backwards.
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Whoever ordered the weather must be expressly commended. Less than ten minutes after the end of Dennis Novak’s game, a heavy shower set in. Three hours earlier than predicted by the local hobby meteorologists, but just late enough.
This did not play a major role for friends of good cuisine: The local conditions at the Graz Fair offer almost all food stands the opportunity to sell sausages, burgers and even beer in the dry.
There have been Davis Cup games in which the folder service has proven to be sustainably humorless. Not so in Graz. Access to the protagonists is not granted freely, but the great majority of the young autograph hunters were allowed to go home satisfied. So did Vincent from Söding.
Hottest object of desire: Dominic Thiem, of course. He doesn’t really know yet whether he will serve again in Graz at all. Should Oliver Marach and Jürgen Melzer win the third point for Austria on Saturday, Thiem will give himself a performance on Sunday and try to consolidate his reputation as Austria’s number one team cheerleader.