Despite a strong performance, Oscar Otte missed the sensation against Daniil Medvedev. In Wimbledon he is the German hope for men.
The fans in the stands rose as Oscar Otte left the court in the sweltering Halle afternoon heat. The tennis pro Cologne had become the crowd favorite at the Westphalian lawn tournament with a strong performance – but the world number one Daniil Medvedev was a size too big in the semifinals on Saturday (June 18th, 2022).
Otte lost to the Russians 6:7 (3:7), 3:6 and must therefore continue to wait for his first appearance in a final, after having advanced to the semi-finals in Munich, Stuttgart and Halle this year.
Otte: “The tournament was a step in the right direction”
“I had my chances, even today, but you have to use them against the number one, otherwise it won’t work,” said Otte on ZDF, the disappointment of the 28-year-old still prevailed. But: “It was super fun here in front of 11,000 fans, the tournament was another step in the right direction.”
Higher than ever in the world rankings
Consolation for Otte: From Monday he will be at least 38th in the world rankings. and thus higher than ever. Behind the injured Alexander Zverev (Hamburg), he has established himself as the German number two.
After the two semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle, he is also considered a promising candidate in Wimbledon (from June 27), where Russian players like Medvedev are excluded.
Grass a good run for Otte
Because in Halle he proved his flair for grass, even when Medvedev converted his first match point after 1:37 hours at temperatures above 30 degrees.
In Wimbledon, Otte is therefore the German hope, while Olympic champion Zverev, after tearing his ligaments several times, cannot even say whether it will be enough for the last Grand Slam tournament in 2022.
Serves, returns and volleys pass
It’s already impressive how quickly Otte, a long-time follower of the tennis tour, has blossomed into a top player. He made his breakthrough last year when he reached the round of 16 at the US Open, and since then things have been going uphill.
His good serve, return and solid volleys make him an unpleasant opponent on grass – even for the stars of the scene. Medvedev at least had trouble avoiding another Halle defeat against a German outsider. In 2021 he lost to Jan-Lennard Struff (Warstein) in round one.
