Davis Cup: Innsbruck is not Cologne
After the Austrians, the Germans can work off Novak Djokovic and Co. today (from 4 p.m. live on ServusTV and in our live ticker). The neighborhood duel on Sunday is already casting its shadow.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Nov 27, 2021, 08:42 am
The planners for the Davis Cup have learned from the experiences of Madrid 2019, the matches now start an hour earlier: those of the morning session at 10 a.m., in the afternoon from 4 p.m. Normally. On Friday in Innsbruck, for example, it became clear that a six-hour window does not necessarily have to be sufficient: the double between Austria and Serbia only came to an end well after 11 p.m. With the victory of Nikola Cacic and Filip Krajinovic against Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald.
0: 3 against Serbia, that was not entirely unexpected, with a full line-up of both teams, according to the world rankings, the Austrians could only get something in doubles. The home advantage is well known and for good reasons gone, Austria is not Cologne, where 50,000 spectators are to follow the Rhine derby against Mönchengladbach live and in person in the stadium this afternoon, despite the steadily increasing Corona numbers. In the open air, but still amazing.
Djokovic loses three important matches for him
Would a full Innsbruck Olympia World have worn Dennis Novak to win against Novak Djokovic? Hardly likely. The world number one may have lost the last three games that were really important to him (at the Olympics and the ATP Finals in the semifinals against Alexander Zverev , plus the final at the US Open against Daniil Medvedev ), but Djokovic rarely leaves anything in team competitions to. Dennis Novak played along courageously - and after less than an hour of play he still smashed against the Serbian wall.
The situation is a bit different with Gerald Melzer, who was sent into the match against Dusan Lajovic by Stefan Koubek instead of Jurij Rodionov. Melzer made up for a break deficit in the third set, in this situation the fans might have carried him to the surprise against Lajovic. Hättiwari, Serbia got this point too.
Novak and Struff against each other
Today the Austrians will be in the observer role, it is up to Germany, Djokovic and Co. to demand (from 4 p.m. live on ServusTV). The German captain Michael Kohlmann can rotate in his two-man position as well as his colleagues Troicki and Koubek; the choices are Peter Gojowczyk and Dominik Koepfer. At the very front, Jan-Lennard Struff will go to Bütt for black-red-gold, his record against Novak Djokovic looks rather modest: In six matches, the German was only able to win one set against the world number one, he was at the Australian Open in 2019 ´s.
There are always chances for Germany, the two Olympians Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz will run in doubles. Should it be a tie after the singles, Djokovic can also be expected in pair skating. A German success would add even more tension to the meeting with Austria on Sunday, but there is no animosity between the two neighboring countries. Especially not in the likely top match between Novak and Struff. The colleague from Warstein was one of his best friends on the tour, Novak said after his defeat against Djokovic, they got along well off the court. The fact that football is also an issue at private meetings can be taken for granted: Struff is a passionate supporter of Borussia Dortmund, Novak is close to the heart of SK Rapid Wien. They would have liked to have played the Sunday match against each other under Cologne conditions.
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