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Dennis Novak had to have his first match at the Erste Bank Open against the strong South African Kevin Anderson Lost, the Austrian was defeated by the two-time Grand Slam finalists 7: 6 (2), 4: 6 and 6: 7 (6).
by Michael Rothschädl
Last edit: October 26, 2020, 4:59 pm
By Michael Rothschädl of the Wiener Stadthalle
Dennis Novak has not yet been really warm during his many home event appearances at the Wiener Stadthalle. Time and time again, the Austrian number two showed quite passable performances, for a victory in the main field it was enough for the world number 92, who played his best season in the 2020 calendar year and in January with the first inning in the top 100. ATP charts were rewarded.
Now, of course, Lower Austria should report its success stories for the first time in front of the local public at the Wiener Stadthalle, although the start with Kevin Anderson should be difficult. On paper at least: Anderson, who rose to fifth in the ATP world rankings in 2018 and was even allowed to sniff out the Grand Slam final in New York City and Wimbledon, has been lagging in his form for some time and it is now 111th in the world rankings even behind its Austrian counterpart.
Heavy duty match
Both players started this match with a very strong serve and tried to hit with the forehand. Consequently, you could rarely see longer rallies in the early stages, but if they did, Dennis Novak generally had the best finish for him. For a long time, no player could be dangerous when the opponent served, and no break balls were seen until the last game of the set. With the score of 5: 6, Dennis Novak stumbled a bit, had to dodge two break opportunities from Anderesons and was saved in the tiebreaker. In this Lower Austria got off to a clearly better start, quickly slipping away 4-0 and winning the first set a little later.
In the second set, however, Kevin Anderson continued the uptrend that he had only briefly interrupted in the first set tiebreak and took the first break of the game in the fifth game. That should give the South African a boost, Anderson broke Novaks again in the next service game and went 5-2 up front. Although the Austrian knew how to shorten the match with his first break, in the second game, in which the South African served in the equalization of the set, he was not naked and equalized after almost exactly an hour and a half.
Novak defends himself against several break opportunities
Despite the equalization of the set, Kevin Anderson had to be treated in the next interruption, again the knee seemed to cause problems. An injury that had already forced the South African to undergo an operation. However, the world ranking 111. Dangerous in Novak’s first service game in the decisive third set, but with the strong support of the 1000 fans at the Wiener Stadthalle, the Austrian number two was able to avoid the early break deficit. Lower Austria followed suit in their second service game of the third round, when Novak was able to protect himself from two break opportunities and took the lead again.
Kevin Anderson, on the other hand, did not allow anything in his own service during this phase, thus taking more and more control of this match. However, Dennis Novak was able to cover up all the dangerous situations in this third movement and was able to count on the support of a frenzied audience for the entire duration. And so it was suddenly Kevin Anderson who had to serve against the loss of the match when the score was 4: 5. The South African did this job with great success and secured two break balls with a score of 5: 5, which Novak was able to destroy again. . A little later, the Austrian went 6: 5 in front with a winning serve.
Novak in doubles back in action
Once again, Anderson showed no nudity on his own serve and scored a lot of free points with massive first serves. The winner of this first round match had to be chosen by quick decision in the third set. The first mini break was ensured in this by Dennis Novak, who benefited from a double error by Anderson. However, with the same gift, the Austrian immediately destroyed it. The next mini-break should also follow the one from Lower Austria, who reached three match balls in 6: 3, but forgave them all, the latter with a double fault. After a very good longline-winning backhand, Anderson scored a match point, which he knew how to use with the next strong serve.
In addition to Novak, the young Jurij Rodionov will also serve on the main field of the Erste Bank Open on Monday. Born in Nuremberg, he last caused a sensation at the French Open when he celebrated a victory in his main draw debut after successfully qualifying. In the evening, Dennis Novak, this time in doubles alongside Dominic Thiem, will end the day at the Wiener Stadthalle.
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