Saturday, September 4th 2021
Otte thrilled at the US Open
Deutscher Nobody extends miraculous series
Oscar Otte is number 144 in the tennis world rankings. But at the US Open, the German succeeds in great things: He wins six matches in New York – and is now in the round of 16. Another German outsider has already made it there, Alexander Zverev can still follow.
With a greeting to the Cologne Bundesliga professional Anthony Modeste and a spectacular sideways roll, Oscar Otte celebrated his round of 16 at the US Open. The 28-year-old qualifier beat Italian Andreas Seppi 6: 3, 6: 4, 2: 6, 7: 5 in New York and is in the round of 16 for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament. Since Munich’s Peter Gojowczyk and Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp also made it the day before, for the first time since 1982 there are three qualifiers at the US Open in the round of the best 16.
“This is the best success of my life,” said Otte after his coup on the TV channel Eurosport. When he had transformed his match point after 2:29 hours, he rolled over once, tore the cap off his head and made two circles around his eyes with his fingers, as Modeste liked to do. “It just feels awesome, I enjoy it,” said Otte. When he still lived in his parents’ house, Modeste was practically his neighbor, said the 1.93-meter man. “And then the double-O still fits, I actually thought it was really cool to do that,” said Oscar Otte, referring to his initials.
In the round of 16, the world number 144 hits. Otte on Monday against Italian Matteo Berrettini, who was seeded at number six. Gojowczyk will face the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. Gojowczyk and Otte had fought for their place in the main field with three victories in the qualification in humid and hot temperatures. In one of his matches, Otte even vomited on the pitch because he was previously weakened by a gastrointestinal disease. “The hope is of course always to fight through the qualification, that pulls strength,” said Otte. But it can also inspire you and give you self-confidence – as he now proved against the South Tyrolean Seppi.
“I claw it”
Otte started furiously and secured the first two rounds with a powerful game. He won the last game in the second set on his own serve to zero. Seppi left the place and then increased significantly. The 37-year-old managed a break to 2-0, with another to 6-2 he secured set three. “You will probably not lose to such an old man”, the German women boss Barbara Rittner had written to Otte before the match, as she revealed at Eurosport. Otte’s answer was: “Nah, I’ll grab it.” And the 1. FC Köln fan actually implemented the project. After a weaker phase, he managed the decisive break with a score of 5: 5 in the fourth set. Otte didn’t let this chance slip away with his own serve. “This is a character success. I’m so happy for him,” said Boris Becker.
For a place in the round of the last 16 Otte have already secured 265,000 US dollars in prize money. With this, the professional doubles his previous prize money balance of the year: Otte was able to earn exactly 209,247 US dollars before he traveled to this wondrous US open. In everyday life, Otte is on the second-rate Challenger Tour, at the highest level he was only able to win one match this year. But in New York, everything is obviously different this year. Germany’s best tennis player can follow the two outsiders in the night: Olympic champion Alexander Zverev meets the American Jack Sock in the third round.
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