Fabio Fognini will face Dennis Novak as Italy opens its ATP Cup campaign against Austria. Both the players represented their nations in the inaugural edition of the tournament last year and will lock horns during their Group C rubber on Day 1 on Tuesday, February 2, with the match likely to begin at around 10 am local time (11.30 pm BST or 6.30 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Fabio Fognini v Dennis Novak match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Fabio Fognini v Dennis Novak Head to Head
The Italian won their only previous matchup, six years ago in Kitzbuhel, Austria, beating Novak 6-1, 6-2 in the round of 16 of the clay court event.
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Fognini Looking to Rediscover Form
It was an up and down tournament for Italy’s Fabio Fognini last year as Italy finished second in Group D behind Russia to bow out of the Round Robin stage.
Fognini took the first set against Daniil Medvedev in Italy’s first tie versus Russia, but couldn’t build on that start as the Russian rallied to win the next two and give his country a 2-0 lead. Russia eventually took the tie 3-0.
In the next tie against Norway, Italy came out on top, winning 2-1, but Fognini was outclassed by the up-and-coming Casper Ruud in straight sets in his singles rubber.
The 33-year-old Italian finally got his first singles win of the competition against John Isner, beating the 6’10” American 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), as the Italians took the contest 3-0.
The win, however, wasn’t enough for Italy to go through, as they finished second in the group and were edged out by Belgium and Canada as the two best second-placed finishers to reach the quarterfinals. While Fognini finished with a 1-2 singles record, he won both his doubles rubbers against Norway and America.
The 2019 Monte Carlo Masters champion, who has nine singles titles on the Tour, is 1-1 in 2021. The Italian made short work of qualifier Michael Vrbensky in the first round at the Antalya Open before going down to Jeremy Chardy of France in a thrilling three-set Round-of-16 contest.
After the highs of 2019, when Fognini claimed his first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo and reached as many as six other quarterfinals, the Italian had a disappointing 2020 season, finishing with a 6-10 singles record.
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Will Novak Provide More Three-Set Dramas?
Dennis Novak will kickstart his 2021 season in Melbourne. The Austrian, ranked 99th in the world, was 6-12 in singles in 2020, reaching the quarterfinals in Cologne and the Round of 16 as a qualifier in Dubai.
The 27-year-old right-hander played three thrilling thee-setters at the ATP Cup last year as Austria bowed out of the group stage, after finishing fourth in Group E.
In his first match against Marin Cilic, Novak won the first set tiebreak but couldn’t capitalize on that start as the Croatian rebounded to give his country a 1-0 lead. The Croatians took the other two rubbers as well to blank Austria 3-0.
In his next match against Argentina’s Guido Pella, it was Novak’s turn to dig deep. Bageled in the first, he fought back to take the rubber in three as Austria took the tie 3-0.
Against Poland in the last tie, Novak would see another match go the distance but this time it was Kacper Zuc’s turn to stage a come-from-behind victory. The Pole fought back from a set down to help his country finish third in the Group.
Pitted against Italy and France in Group C, Novak would be looking to give his team good starts in the tournament and take the pressure off teammate and World No. 3 Dominic Thiem.
Fognini v Novak Prediction and Tip
The Italian is ranked much higher and is far more experienced than his opponent, particularly on the hard courts of Melbourne. Expect him to win the rubber and give Italy the advantage.
Tip: Fognini to win: 2/5 (bet365)
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The 2021 ATP Cup will be played from February 2 to 6. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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