Dennis Novak on Gael Monfils: "What he partially deducted was a little over the top"
Dennis Novak was anything but pleased after his first round defeat at the Erste Bank Open over the behavior of his opponent Gael Monfils .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Oct 23, 2019, 07:38 pm
by Nikolaus Fink from the Wiener Stadthalle
The sting, he was still extremely deep minutes after the bitter first-round. With a petrified expression Dennis Novak took a seat in the press center of the Wiener Stadthalle and let his frustration run free.
"What he partially deducted on the pitch was a little over the top, when he goes into the corner and almost starts to cry," the Austrian cried sharply at his opponent Gael Monfils. Especially in the first set, the Frenchman seemed to be close to a task, but only about an hour later to leave the place after all as the winner.
Monfils: "I did not enjoy the game"
Monfils is known for antics of this kind. However, the 33-year-old did not want to know anything about an acting contribution: "I am frustrated that I am not 100 percent, unfortunately I am not fit. But I'm a fighter and I played because I love this sport, I did not enjoy the game. " However, the Frenchman did not want to go into detail about his injury.
Novak, on the other hand, was particularly surprised by the performance of his opponent: "After his long injury break, it was a little weird, he served well and hit me every second serve."
skywien
Nevertheless, Austria's number two must accept the accusation that they have not played the match consistently enough. In the second set Monfils was still visibly struck, at the score of 5: 6 from Novak's point of view, the 26-year-old gambled a 30-0 lead and gave the French the second round.
Revenge against Sinner?
However, Novak did not go into court with himself too hard: "He served well then, I did not get much on my serve games, the two breaks I cashed were of course stupid. three points that I can blame myself for. "
Monfils himself attributed the "happy victory" to one fact: "Dennis has become nervous." In the end, the Frenchman will not care, he will face Jannik Sinner in the second round on Thursday in the last match of the day. Only last week Monfils pulled against the South Tyrolean in Antwerp the short straw.