Winning the first set is within reach, but in the semi-finals of the Halle lawn tournament it’s over for Oscar Otte. The German tennis pro keeps up very well against Daniil Medvedev. But the man who is suspended for Wimbledon moves into the final.
Spectators rose to their feet as Oscar Otte left the court in the sweltering Halle afternoon heat. The tennis pro from Cologne had become the crowd favorite at the Westphalian lawn tournament with outstanding performances – but the world number one Daniil Medvedev was a size too big in the semifinals. Otte lost to the top star from Russia 6:7 (3:7), 3:6 and must therefore continue to wait for his first appearance in the final.
“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.” At temperatures above 30 degrees, Medvedev converted his first match point after 1:37 hours and avoided another Halle defeat against a German outsider. In 2021, the US Open winner lost to Jan-Lennard Struff in round one. Otte, who has never defeated a top 10 player, missed a set point in the first round when the score was 5:4.
In the second set, Medvedev’s break was crucial to make it 4-2. Even the spectators couldn’t get Otte back into the game, who became the fans’ favorite in the absence of the injured Alexander Zverev. The pride in one’s own performance is justified, “but of course it’s always disappointing when you lose – no matter against whom.”
Consolation for Otte: In the coming week he will be at least 38th in the world rankings. and thus higher than ever. In the final, Medvedev meets Hubert Hurkacz from Poland, who defeated Nick Kyrgios from Australia 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 2), 7: 6 (7: 4).
Otte, still number 51 in the world, initially did not notice the hardships of the quarter-finals against Karen Chatschanov (4: 6, 7: 6, 6: 4). In the first set, the match had to be interrupted for a few minutes due to technical problems after Otte’s hard serve broke the net attachment. Otte didn’t let that faze him, he took the serve from Medvedev to make it 5:3, but had to go into the tie-break, ultimately without success.
After Otte had already reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart, he can still travel to Wimbledon full of self-confidence. “I’m super hot and ready,” he said. “I’m very happy with how I’ve performed in Germany over the last few weeks.” Medvedev, on the other hand, will not be there for the classic lawn. Last year’s US Open winner did not participate due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players due to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
