ATP Tournament in Stuttgart, 2nd Round, Wednesday, 08.06.2022
No sooner is the French Open over than the next Grand Slam is already casting its shadow! Before the tennis elite hit the court at Wimbledon, it’s time to get your form going on the fast grass.
The Boss Open, as the ATP tournament in Stuttgart 2022 is officially called, comes at just the right time. The local heroes naturally want to serve particularly well in front of their home crowd. Read my Otte Shapovalov tip to see why I think they have a good chance here!
Admittedly, Stuttgart’s tennis fans are not exactly spoilt for success. They haven’t seen a German winner since Michael Stich’s triumph 31 years ago, although Philipp Kohlschreiber did make it to the final in 2013 and 2016.
Year after year, the Swabian region welcomes a number of top stars; it is not for nothing that the last three winners were Marin Cilic, Matteo Berrettini and Roger Federer. The common feature of this period: there was always a Canadian in the final.
Denis Shapovalov wants to continue this tradition in 2022. Known as a bad boy, he would like to forget the impression he made at the French Open, where he lost to Holger Rune in the first round without a chance.
While Shapovalov beat Rafael Nadal and Lorenzo Sonego in Rome, he was eliminated early not only in Paris, but also a few days earlier in Geneva against Ilya Ivashka. So with him, you never quite know what you’re going to get.
This is the Canadian’s fourth appearance in Stuttgart, where he is seeded fourth. Last year he reached the quarter-finals for the first time, losing outright to the eventual winner Marin Cilic.
Whether it is a bad omen that he has to face a German in his first appearance?
Now it will be Oscar Otte who will try to put a stop to him. The German betting companies are not expecting a surprise, but with odds of 1.30 to 3.30 they have made it clear that a German victory would not be an absolute sensation.
For Oscar Otte it is the premiere at the Neckar, for the first time he wants to use the home advantage. He should have had enough training time, because for him, too, the French Open ended much quicker than he had wished for.
In the 6-7, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 against Roberto Carballes, he initially made a strong comeback, but still lost out in the decisive fifth set. This year Otte is showing that he is always a force to be reckoned with.
He has what it takes to beat the big ones. When it comes to duels with the absolute top stars, the 28-year-old often lacks the final punch to really win the matches.
However, he does not yet know how it feels to play against Denis Shapovalov. The two will meet on the court for the first time on Tuesday. Will Otte be able to make use of the fact that he is eight centimetres taller?
In contrast to Shapovalov, Otte has already played his first match in Stuttgart and had to push himself to the limit. He won 7-6, 7-6 against Daniel Altmaier, neither of them allowed a single break!
My Otte Shapovalov tip
Oscar Otte wants to celebrate a big win with the support of the crowd. He has already shown several times this year that he can annoy the world elite. It is also possible that Denis Shapovalov is not in top form.
In Geneva and Paris, he had to leave after the first round and struggled enormously. His results on the Neckar in the last few years were also not exhilarating. That’s why I’m tempted to make the following prediction:
Otte will win at least one set!
