Tuesday was a rainy game of patience for tennis aces and the public. For Dennis Novak it was a first round defeat.
The second Austrian at the ATP tennis tournament in Kitzbühel was also the end of the first round. Dennis Novak lost to the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in their first duel 3: 6, 4: 6 early on Tuesday evening and thus continues to hold three wins as his maximum in the Gamsstadt. The Lower Austrian was in the home event for the eighth time in the main competition. On Monday, Styrian Filip Misolic was also eliminated in the first round.
Novak found breakballs in the first game, and there were four in total until the first preliminary decision in the match. After missing all those chances, his opponent converted his first chance to break the local hero’s serve and then served out. And in the second round it was Novak’s third service game in which he was unable to hold his serve. The game was over after 1:23 hours, Novak’s last match win on the tour so far dates from the Wimbledon opening round in 2022.
“Two bad serve games”
“It wasn’t a bad match from me,” Novak summed up. “It was two bad serve games that I broke myself in. And he (Seyboth Wild, note) played very, very well, served extremely well.” Of course, he expected more. “But there are still little things that are still missing in the match. I’ll take with me that I played three good matches here.” The injury break from February to May due to a torn ligament in the ankle no longer has any effect. Novak is now playing a challenger in Italy, then it’s off to the US Open qualifiers.
Before that, after delays due to rain, the German Daniel Altmaier (No. 8) with 6: 7 (5), 6: 2, 6: 4 against the Swiss Marc-Andrea Hüsler and the Serb Laslo Djere (5) with 6: 4, 7:6(4) against Australia’s Christopher O’Connell in the round of 16. Dominic Thiem, the 2019 Kitzbühel winner with a wildcard, met the Argentinian qualifier Facundo Bagnis afterwards (since 7.30 p.m., live ServusTV). However, the party had to be interrupted due to rain. Thiem is 2: 4 behind after a break against himself (to 1: 3). It is still unclear whether the game can continue on Tuesday.
Umag winner Popyrin falls out
Alexei Popyrin is no longer in the grid. Last week’s Australian Umag winner traveled from Croatia but had to withdraw his entry due to a right leg injury. Instead of him, the Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo plays as a lucky loser against the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
On Wednesday, the top four of the seed list will also get involved, including Sebastian Ofner. The Styrian, classified as number four, is scheduled for the second game after 11 a.m. with his game against Slovakian Alex Molcan. Should Thiem make it into the round of 16, he would play it in the last center court game of the day against the Serb Dusan Ljaovic (7) or the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen. Alexander Erler/Lucas Miedler, the 2021 Kitzbühel winners, will enter the doubles tournament.
Felix Gall visiting
Tour de France stage winner Felix Gall made a detour to the ATP tournament in Kitzbühel the day before the reception in his honor in East Tyrol. He was also a tennis player as a child, and it was enough to win a few trophies at regional tournaments. In the stands of a game at ATP level, however, he was only seated at the Davis Cup in Spain last year. “Now it suits me all the more that I can be here today,” Gall told a media panel on Tuesday. He is now realizing his successes in France more and more. “Now it’s slowly sinking. (APA)
2023-08-01 17:08:10
#Kitzbühel #rain #Novak #eliminated #Thiem #game #interrupted
