Service: Interwetten-Favoritencheck: Local heroes Thiem, Novak, Ofner and Rodionov in Kitzbühel

With Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak, Sebastian Ofner and Jurij Rodionov four local heroes will compete at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. But what are the chances for the Austrians in front of their home audience? Betting provider Interwetten takes a closer look at the chances of Thiem and Novak.

Dominic Thiem travels to Kitzbühel as the favourite. After a difficult grass season, the Lower Austrian may return to his favourite surface. The 24-year-old is the strongest player on clay next to Rafael Nadal and will be the top seed in Kitzbühel.

Particular attention will have to be paid to the back of the French Open finalist. In Wimbledon Thiem had to give up in the first round, but his wound seems to have healed completely. The man from Lichtenwörth has a walk-through in the first round and is allowed to take a break after the tournament at Rothenbaum in Hamburg.

Thiem didn’t want things to go quite smoothly in the Hanseatic city. Already after the quarter-finals the top star had to pack his bags after a bitter two-set defeat against Nicolas Jarry. One advantage for Thiem: The 24-year-old played two matches on clay and was able to test his physical condition.

If Thiem can adapt quickly enough to the Kitzbühel underground, it will be difficult to stop him on his way to his tenth career title.

Sebsatian Ofner received a wildcard from tournament director Alexander Antonitsch and has to start against the strong left-hander Martin Klizan. A strong but feasible opponent to start – especially with the home audience behind him.

Especially explosive: Should Ofner survive the first round, he will face buddy and training partner Thiem. However, this should be more an incentive than a deterrent for Ofner, because the 22-year-old played his way into his first ATP semi-final in Kitzbühel last year and experienced his first big breakthrough.

The threat of a duel against Thiem could be an advantage especially for Ofner, who knows Thiem well and can adapt to the “Dominator”. In any case a game with a high entertainment factor for the spectators – if Ofner can put his opening opponent Klizan in his place.

Here you can bet on your favorites

The draw for Dennis Novak and Yuri Rodionov was somewhat unfortunate. Novak (wildcard holder) and Rodionov, who had played his way through the qualification, will meet at the beginning of the tournament.

For the audience, of course, the purely Austrian duel is a treat and the tension between 19-year-old Rodionov and Novak, who played his way into the round of the last 32 in Wimbledon, will be high. The possible quarter-final against Thiem or Ofner, which would mean that an Austrian would certainly be in the semi-finals, would be even more explosive.

Novak in particular could play the draw with the threat of a clash with Thiem. The two Austrians often train together in Wiener Neustadt and know each other well. Also the training camp in the Offseason is completed annually together on Tenerife.