Ten days before the start of the classic lawn game in Wimbledon, tennis pro Oscar Otte once again demonstrated his current impressive form and surprisingly reached the semi-finals of the tournament in Halle, Westphalia.
The 28-year-old from Cologne won on Friday in the quarter-finals against the Russian Karen Chatschanow 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 4 and is thus in the semi-finals of an ATP 500 tournament for the first time in his career.
Otte converted his first match point against Chatschanov after 2:11 hours to the cheers of the enthusiastic spectators.
In the semi-finals, the German number two will now face the winner of the game between the world number one Daniil Medvedev from Russia and the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday.
In the absence of Alexander Zverev, who was injured, Otte has long since played his way into the hearts of German tennis fans.
As the day before when he defeated the Georgian Nikolos Bassilashvili in the round of 16, the spectators pushed the Rhinelander forward again and again, even in critical phases.
Like in the round of 16, he turned the game around after losing the first set.
“The audience pushes me enormously.
It's great fun to play in front of so many spectators," said Otte.
"A few years ago I watched the matches from Halle on TV.
And now I'm playing here on Center Court myself. It's actually unbelievable," says Otte, who had already reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart last week.
Due to his strong performances in Halle, the current number 51 in the world rankings will improve to the top 40 in the coming week.
With his strong serves and his good volleys, Otte is also capable of a lot in Wimbledon.
However, Otte struggled with shoulder problems against Chatschanow.
At the beginning of the third set, the German even had to be treated briefly.
"The painkiller worked quickly," said Otte.
"I gained energy with the last drop."