17:52
Otte – Husler 6:2
The German uses the first chance, but again gets active support from the competitor. Hüsler throws a backhand into the net. So the Swiss gives up his serve for the second time. The sentence goes to Germany!
17:51
Otte – Husler 5: 2
Then Otte has to apologize again for a badly hit ball, because that brings him the point – and the first set point!
17:50
Otte – Husler 5: 2
Hüsler is one house too long from the baseline. 15:30! After that, however, Otte didn’t catch a return well enough.
17:48
Otte – Husler 5: 2
As a result, the Swiss now has pressure and has to serve against the loss of the set. Otte hits the felt ball improperly with his forehand, but then catches the line, which provokes a mistake from the opponent.
17:48
Otte – Husler 5: 2
Again, Hüsler allows himself a mistake without need – already his eleventh. The forehand sails out. For the second time today, Otte rushes to a game win and increases to 5:2.
17:46
Otte – Husler 4:2
Hüsler has to go a long way. Otte shows a lot of feeling for the ball, but also patience. It’s not the stop yet, but then the field is open for the forehand.
17:45
Otte – Husler 4:2
Otte cleverly builds up the rally, keeps track of things and plays the forehand longline. His opponent does not expect that. This is followed by the fourth ace of the Rhinelander.
17:44
Otte – Husler 4:2
With a splendid backhand return played down the line, Otte gets a reprieve. With the second ball, however, Hüsler shortened the lead to 2:4 from a Swiss perspective.
17:42
Otte – Husler 4: 1
Now it’s Hüsler’s turn again, looks for the forward gear and easily puts down the forehand volley. The Zurich native is serving better and better, which is making his life easier at the moment.
17:41
Otte – Husler 4: 1
Hüsler misses another forehand. And then Otte closes the sack with a service winner and brings his service game through to 4:1. Boris Becker, who was present, should also like that.
17:40
Otte – Husler 3: 1
After that, Otte can again rely on the mistakes of his opponent, who is once again blocked by the net. This is how the German masters the first somewhat tricky situation.
17:39
Otte – Husler 3: 1
Otte allows himself his first double fault and receives immediate encouragement from the audience. 0:30!
17:38
Otte – Husler 3: 1
The Swiss seem to be picking up speed gradually. Now the 26-year-old manages an excellent cross-played backhand return.
17:37
Otte – Husler 3: 1
When Otte falls far short of a backhand slice, Hüsler marches through his service to a clean sheet and thus ends up on the scoreboard.
17:36
Otte – Husler 3:0
Shortly thereafter, a net attack is successful, the forehand volleyball sits. This is followed by another ace.
17:35
Otte – Husler 3:0
Five unforced errors and a devastating first serve rate make the difference so far. Hüsler now has to work on that. In fact, the Zurich native now has the first ace.
17:33
Otte – Husler 3:0
Then Hüsler gets in the way of the obstacle again, giving Otte two balls. And the 29-year-old uses the first one right away. The backhand return of the Swiss clearly sails out. Otte makes it 3-0.
17:31
Otte – Husler 2:0
Otte is unimpressed and produces his third ace. After that, the man from Cologne lets his opponent run according to all the rules of tennis – until his emergency backhand falls short and doesn’t make it over the net.
17:31
Otte – Husler 2:0
Then there is reason for Hüsler to clench his fist. The Swiss countered the attacking opponent with a fine backhand longline.
17:30
Otte – Husler 2:0
A break point remains. And now Hüsler gives up his service game with the first double fault.
17:29
Otte – Husler 1:0
Hüsler fends off a break chance and comes to a direct point for the first time. After Otte’s short return, the forehand is no problem for the Swiss.
17:27
Otte – Husler 1:0
Then Otte unpacks a fine forehand return and hits his opponent cross over the ears. And the Swiss makes mistake after mistake, trembles a second into the field, but then misses the forehand without need. Two breakballs!
17:27
Otte – Husler 1:0
Then Hüsler discusses a serve through the middle of the square, which Otte was unable to return. In the end it was successful, the ball was given well. 15 both!
17:26
Otte – Husler 1:0
While Otte always had the first serve, Hüsler had to try the second immediately. At least that comes, but the error does not stay away shortly afterwards. Nothing is coming together with the Swiss.
17:24
Otte – Husler 1:0
And the German then turns things around, fires his second ace and marches through the first game to zero.
17:23
Otte – Husler 0:0
After that, the first net attack is also successful, whereby Hüsler’s attempt to pass with the forehand fails completely. Otte builds up the subsequent first somewhat longer rally well and executes it with determination.
17:22
1 sentence
Now Oscar Otte opens the match in front of about 3,000 spectators in the fairly full Arena Trier – and does it with an ace.
17:17
coin toss
After quite a long time of doctoring about the height of the net, the choice of place is finally taking place. The coin falls in favor of Hüsler, who decides to hit back. Then both play another four minutes.
17:09
performance and national anthems
Meanwhile, our protagonists are on the hard court in the Arena Trier. As usual in the Davis Cup, all players from both teams are introduced first. Of course, the captains Michael Kohlmann and Severin Lüthi are also part of it. And of course the national anthems shouldn’t be missing either. International match!
17:03
Head 2 Head
For the second time, both professionals face each other on the tennis court. The only duel so far was in autumn 2020 at a challenger in Hamburg. The first round match clearly went to Otte in two sets (6:2, 6:3).
16:57
Davis Cup appearances
Oscar Otte is certainly not a guarantee of success in the Davis Cup. The Rhinelander was nominated for the first time in 2022, has played four matches so far and lost them all. Only against Belgian David Goffin did he score at least one set. His opponent has been playing Davis Cup since 2018. Nine matches are recorded – five of them singles. The Swiss has two wins and three defeats.
16:47
Marc Andrea Husler
This is exactly what unites him with Marc-Andrea Hüsler. In addition to the five challengers, the Zurich native has also won an ATP tournament – the 250 in Sofia 2022. The 26-year-old has been rare at the larger events so far, was in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament three times and said goodbye always immediately. At the 1,000 in Paris 2022, the left-hander played in the main draw of a Masters for the first time – and at least reached the second round. In the world rankings, Hüsler is currently better than Otte, is 53rd and recently moved up two places.
16:37
Oscar Otte
Oscar Otte is the first to start for the Germans. The man from Cologne is currently number 80 in the world, but was listed as number 36 last year. It wasn’t enough to win a tournament on the ATP tour. After all, the 29-year-old reached the round of 16 of the US Open in 2021 (best major result). At the Masters level, the right-hander never got past the second round. Otte has already won at least five Challenger titles.
16:27
qualification
These days there is a qualifying round with twelve duels. It’s about getting into the Davis Cup Finals, for which hosts Spain, Italy and last year’s two finalists Canada and Australia are seeded. Only the 12 winners will be allowed to play the group matches in Málaga in September, where the top eight teams will go through to the knockout stages. Germany made it to this quarter-final last year, giving them the right to start this season. Switzerland, on the other hand, comes from World Group I, where it ultimately held its own against Ecuador last September and is therefore allowed to contest this qualification.
16:17
Welcome
Welcome to Davis Cup 2023! Today and tomorrow, Germany and Switzerland meet in the Arena Trier. Oscar Otte and Marc-Andrea Hüsler will open the debate at 5 p.m. with the first individual.