Wimbledon 2022, 2nd Round, Thursday, 30.06.2022
Is there an Austrian tennis fairytale at Wimbledon? Dennis Novak made it to the 2nd round, desperate to continue his run. On Thursday, he will meet a fellow qualifier
In my Novak Kubler tip I reveal why it’s hard to find a favourite, but I’d still rather bet on the Australian!
The Austrian tennis team didn’t send many hopefuls to London, but maybe Dennis Novak will make it? The 28-year-old wants to finally get a grip on his nerves.
His coaches always report strong training sessions, but also the problem of bringing the skills onto the court in competition. In the run-up to Wimbledon, Novak did not perform well, but as soon as he went to the capital, the knot burst.
Against Stefan Kozlov in the 3rd round of the qualifying he got nervous for a short while, but despite a wasted 2:0 he still made it to the main draw. There he had to play Facundo Bagnis and was clearly favoured.
And rightly so, as it soon turned out. 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, with the exception of a short weak phase, Novak showed a very solid performance. However, he only used three of his 17 break chances, this quota has to go up significantly.
Novak often made life difficult for himself and was actually clearly superior to his opponent. But after just under three hours, he had made it and is now looking to reach the 3rd round of Wimbledon for the second time since 2018.
In doing so, he will have to get a player out of the way who also started in the qualifiers in London. Jason Kubler is rated slightly higher by the German betting providers, the odds show that quite clearly.
1.60 to 2.25, whether the Australian can live up to his role as favourite? He and Dennis Novak met in the 2019 Ilkley qualifier, with the Austrian winning 7-6, 6-3.
For Kubler, the 2nd round of Wimbledon is of course also a very big success. He had knocked out Cem Ikel, Thiago Tirante and Elias Ymer in the qualifying round, but he finally caused a real surprise in the 1st round.
With Daniel Evans, he faced a highly rated local hero who ultimately had no chance at all. 6-1, 6-4, 6-3, – Kubler delivered a truly sensational performance.
He made use of five out of eight break chances, but rigorously fended off all three from Evans. Was this performance somehow predictable? At the French Open, he had also reached the second round and then went on to two Challengers.
Once he lifted the trophy, the other time he lost a final. It may be surprising how he swept past Daniel Evans, but it was not quite a sensation.
The Australian, relatively small at 1.78m, is now reaching for the 3rd round on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon for the first time. Why shouldn’t someone who won easily against Evans also triumph against Dennis Novak?
My Novak Kubler Tip
From an Austrian point of view, of course you want a win for Dennis Novak, but is he cool enough to do it? In my analysis I saw a strong performance, but also too many mistakes of my own.
With Jason Kubler, everything fell into place in the 1st round. Anyone who sweeps a Daniel Evans out of the stadium and reaches the finals twice before Wimbledon is undoubtedly in a good mood. That’s why my tip is:
Kubler wins against Novak!
