HALLE, WESTPHALIA/STARNBERG, June 17, 2022
Following his semi-final appearances in Munich and Stuttgart, Oscar Otte has reached the stage of the final four at an ATP Tour event on home soil in Germany for the third consecutive time this season. The 28-year-old Cologne native came back from a set down to fight past Karen Khachanov of Russia 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 at the Terra Wortmann Open on Friday.
Otte, who is making his tournament debut in Halle, fired 22 aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points to set a semi-final clash with World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev after two hours and 11 minutes.
The moment @OscarOtte reached his first ATP 500 semi-final!@ATPHalle #TWO22 pic.twitter.com/M2OWGNNNUb
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 17, 2022
“This is the best time of my whole career right now,” said Otte. “Of course, I’m really looking forward to the match against Daniil, to the atmosphere in the stadium, to a match against the number 1. A few years ago I watched matches like this in front of the TV.”
Medvedev beats Bautista Agut
Later in the day, Medvedev earned his first match win over Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain in the pair’s fourth meeting. The 26-year-old Russian won 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes.
Sublime 👏@DaniilMedwed reaches the @ATPHalle semi-finals with a solid 6-2 6-4 victory over Bautista Agut! pic.twitter.com/XlVzmFPHlP
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 17, 2022
“Well first of all, he’s a great player,” said Medvedev when asked about his past struggles against Bautista Agut. “I remember all the matches we had… He was playing some [great] tennis and it was tough for me to win. Today I had my plan, managed to keep it going. Definitely got more edge on the most important points, because he had more break points than me. It was not easy, and I’m happy to win.”
About his first meeting with Otte, the Moscow native stated: “I know that he’s a great player, especially on grass and he plays very good on clay also. He made the semis last week, losing to Matteo [Berrettini] in two tie-breakers. So he’s a great player, great serve, great volleyer. So it’s not going to be easy. I need to prepare well, show my best tennis and try to win.
“We’ve warmed up twice together and practised once this week, even playing a set which ended in a tie-break. So we’ve started to know each other better and better, so it’s actually fun that we are playing each other tomorrow, because when you practise with one player a lot, it’s fun to see him in the tournament later in the week. But tomorrow we are definitely not going to be friends!”
Kyrgios cruises past Carreno Busta
In other action, Nick Kyrgios defeated Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-2 in 68 minutes. The Australian wild card entry didn’t face a break point and converted three of his own seven break-point chances.
“I’m feeling so comfortable on the grass,” said Kyrgios after the match. “Today was not easy at all. The scoreline suggest that it was, but he’s a dangerous player on all surfaces. He hits the ball quite flat, and he knows how to win matches.
“I knew that today I just had to take care of my serve, and just be locked in from the ground because he’s a tough competitor.”
Kyrgios will next play No. 5 seed Hubert Hurkacz, who edged out fourth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in one hour and 46 minutes.
