Last year the way to the top of the world began. Otte lost to the British idol Andy Murray in just five sets – he can still repeat the words of the two-time winner when he shook hands on the net on Center Court: “He said on the net that I should keep playing well and stay tuned, then come on the results all by themselves.”
Otte has grown up
The fact that Otte is in the limelight as the last German in the men’s competition without the injured Zverev is the result of hard work and personal development. For years he bobbed around far away from the top 100 in the world rankings. In the meantime, the cooperation with coach Peter Moraing, whose daughter Emma is his girlfriend, is also paying off in the results.
“I’ve grown up, I’ve recognized what I need for myself,” Otte describes his personal maturation process at Wimbledon and clear statements from his coach: “Being calmer in matches, working more sensibly in training, that’s what I missed before. At the beginning it cracked from his side, he got a little louder that I should grow up.”
The competition noticed this too. Otte is repeatedly asked about his two semi-final appearances in Stuttgart and Halle in Wimbledon. “He’s a great example of how a player develops,” says former Davis Cup captain and Sky expert Patrik Kühnen of the German Press Agency: “He went his way with Peter Moraing, they’ve been working together for many years, There is a great bond of trust between them. It’s paying off now.”
But Otte hasn’t completely discarded old behavioral patterns. He always had to drive all over London at the tournament instead of taking a short walk through the alleys of Wimbledon to the facility like other professionals. “As always, I was quite late with the hotel booking,” reports Otte and adds with a wink: “I’m always a bit lazy and careless.”