Davis Cup: Jürgen Melzer confident - "I think we'll see good Dominic Thiem at the weekend"
The ÖTV gentlemen were received extremely friendly in Croatia. On Saturday things will get serious in Rijeka in the fight for the Davis Cup Finals.
by p.m
last edit: Feb 01, 2023, 08:52 pm
After the 3-2 win in Graz 1997 and two defeats in Pula 2001 (1-4) and Graz 2006 (2-3), Austria will challenge away to Rijeka on February 4th and 5th, 2023 for the fourth time in the long Davis Cup history Croatia, currently number one in the nation ranking. On Tuesday, after a relatively long journey, the ÖTV men's team arrived in the port city for the important qualifier for the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals 2023. "The city of Rijeka is very nice for us, with really wonderful weather and a very nice, Absolutely great hotel, welcomes,” said ÖTV Davis Cup captain and sports director Jürgen Melzer at the pre-draw press conference Wednesday at noon to the media in the venue, the Zamet sports center, describing his very first impressions in the opponent’s country.
"When you wake up and look directly at the sea - we Austrians don't have that every day, that's something special." In Rijeka, one was received extremely friendly: "I've known the people in the Croatian team for a long time, and that's how it was It's easy to organize and arrange everything here, such as training times. Of course everyone would like to win at the weekend, but we are a group of friends here until Saturday.”
Melzer "already has an idea" for the line-up
Late Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, the ÖTV men were able to get to know the venue for the first time and take a closer look at the first training sessions. Who had a little surprise ready: "The speed of the courts is actually almost relatively slow. We have nothing to complain about. The playing conditions are pleasant, and if a lot of spectators come at the weekend, it could result in a great and interesting atmosphere,” said Melzer, looking forward to the match in the arena, which can seat a total of 2,450 spectators.
"I've also played a few matches in Croatia myself, the Croatian audience is always very enthusiastic. We're looking forward to it - to a great atmosphere, a nice international match, and then we want to see who wins at the weekend." The local ex-ATP top ten player in singles and doubles also expects "probably 20 to 30 Austrian fans alone from our Davis Cup fan club. It will probably be a tough fight against the Croatian fans," Melzer smiled, "but they will do their best. You have given us a lot of courage over the last few years and have always supported us. Whenever it was possible to come along,” the 41-year-old said gratefully.
#IMG2#
From a sporting point of view, Melzer is fully aware of the outsider role for his team - even if Croatia's top player Marin Cilic (ATP 21) is known to be out after knee surgery. The hosts want to take their time with the substitute for the 2014 US Open winner and the final team nomination until the last possible moment shortly before the draw on Friday (12:00 p.m.). Borna Coric (ATP 23), Borna Gojo (ATP 121) and the world-class double Mate Pavic (ATP double 7) / Nikola Mektic (ATP double 8) are set, there is still a question mark behind the fifth man.
Melzer can count on the strongest team with Dominic Thiem (ATP 99), Jurij Rodionov (ATP 125), Dennis Novak (ATP 144) and the double Alexander Erler (ATP double 49) / Lucas Miedler (ATP double 56). In terms of line-up, however, the Lower Austrian has not yet revealed his cards: “Of course I already have an idea in my head as to how I would like to approach the whole thing. But I would like to wait for the next training sessions, after that I will make a decision when the time comes on Friday.”
Davis Cup "good position determination" for Thiem
On Wednesday morning, Thiem also completed a first, “very good training session with Dennis, really at a good, very high level. He didn't have any complaints, so I think we're very much on target there," Melzer feared no more problems after the ÖTV top player last suffered a slight muscle fiber tear on his ribs at the Australian Open in Melbourne. "I'm really happy that Dominic is here and has agreed to play in this Davis Cup," Melzer continued.
"He's had a really difficult journey over the past few years, to be honest, but you could see at the end of last year that he's getting reasonably close to where he belongs. He reached a semi-final in a 250, played a good tournament in Vienna. But of course he's not quite where he was when he won the US Open, there's no doubt about that. However, I think it could be a good assessment of where he stands here. We're definitely not the favorites before this international match, but playing in a team is always different than standing alone on the pitch. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how he handles the situation. When he trained here, everything looked normal and fine. So I think we'll see a good Dominic this weekend," said the German-Wagramer confidently.
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A little spying on the opponent has already gone out for Melzer: "Yesterday I watched Borna Gojo a bit, he played a lot of attacking exercises. As planned, he would meet Dominic on the first day – and I assume that he will try to play very aggressively there.” With Borna Coric he “didn’t see anything new” that he wasn’t already familiar with: a solid backhand and a dangerous forehand.
However, Melzer also paid special attention to the doubles: "I think it will be a very interesting doubles match - because our team is definitely one that you have to keep an eye on in the future. You had a close game against Mektic/Pavic in Auckland this year. It could be a crucial point, but I think we have our outsider chances here too. Our boys love to play in front of a big crowd. And I think they don't mind that it's going to be against them for the most part. Nevertheless, there will be a great audience and a real international atmosphere. I'm looking forward to the match and if it's maybe 1-1 after the first day, then I'd like to watch this match."
Ohneberg "confident that we could pull off the surprise"
While the ÖTV team, including all supervisors, is conscientiously preparing for the start of the international competition, the association contingent will be expanded on Thursday by ÖTV Managing Director Economy Thomas Schweda and on Friday by ÖTV President Martin Ohneberg and ÖTV Vice President Jürgen Roth . In the run-up to the meeting, Ohneberg was already looking forward to the match: “The cancellation of Marin Cilic, who we would of course like to wish get well soon, has certainly increased our chances. It's ideal for us to be able to field our best team, so I'm optimistic that we could pull off the surprise."
Time schedule
Friday, February 3, 2023, 12:00 p.m.: Official Draw in the Rijeka City Museum
Saturday, February 4, 2023, 2:00 p.m.: Start of the 1st match day (2 singles to 2 winning sets)
Sunday, February 5, 2023, 1:00 p.m.: Start of the 2nd matchday (doubles, then 1 or 2 singles, everything for 2 winning sets)
TV notice
The Davis encounter between Croatia and Austria will be broadcast live on www.oetv.tv , live on www.laola1.at / LAOLA1 TV and on Sunday also live on ORF SPORT +.