Oscar Otte surprises at the ATP tournament in Stuttgart and fights for the next semifinals. Alexander Zverev's injury and Jan-Lennard Struff's exit at Weissenhof put the focus on the Cologne native. A conversation with Andy Murray motivates Otte to this day.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - Oscar Otte still has to get used to such victories and the role as Germany's number one hope. The Cologne tennis pro was "mega happy" after his surprising round of 16 success over Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who was fourth, at the ATP grass event in Stuttgart. With 7: 6 (8: 6), 7: 6 (7: 4) he defeated last year's Wimbledon semi-finalist on Thursday - a real sporting exclamation point. In the quarter-finals on Friday, Otte meets Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. On paper, it's a duel at eye level. But Otte hopes for the next home coup.
"It was an important step in the right direction," said the 28-year-old after beating Shapovalov. He was also convincing at the clay court tournament in Munich at the end of April and reached a semi-final on the ATP tour for the first time. Otte had never beaten such a big name as Shapovalov, who was tenth in the world rankings and is currently number 16 in the rankings. "These are exactly the last percentages that are still missing: to bring home the wins against the top guys," emphasized the 61st in the world rankings.
For years Otte only played Challenger or Future tournaments, it was only in October 2018 that he celebrated his first victory on the ATP tour. At the US Open last year he surprisingly made it into the round of 16. Now, in the absence of the injured Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, he is suddenly the greatest hope in German men's tennis. "That sounds completely sick to me. If someone had said that to me ten years ago, I would have asked: Dude, what's the matter with you?" said Otte. "But being in this role is incredible and it pushes me even more." The 1.93 meter man still sees room for improvement.
In addition to Zverev, who is now out for the first time as a result of a foot operation, Daniel Altmaier is currently the only German in the world rankings, just ahead of Otte. He had defeated the Kempener at the start in Stuttgart. On Thursday, Warsteiner Jan-Lennard Struff said goodbye with a 6: 7 (2: 7), 6: 7 (4: 7) against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego as the last remaining compatriot from the individual field at the Weissenhof. There, all eyes are now on Otte.
Possibly also that of the three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray. The Briton had told Otte when he shook hands after the spectacular second-round duel in Wimbledon last year that he should - despite the defeat - keep going. "The sentence definitely stuck," said the German. "It meant a lot to me to hear something like this from such an icon in tennis." Otte emphasized that he was happy with what he had achieved since then. But he still wants more. Next, the second semi-final at an ATP tournament on German soil in a row.
