ATP Tournament in Florence, Round of 16, Thursday, 13.10.2022
The 2022 tennis season is still on! Before the best meet at the finals at the end of November, they are of course on the road until then to get in the ideal shape for the exciting finish.
But it’s not only the elite who are showing themselves in Florence these days, we also have German participants. When the second best of them competes this Thursday evening, he will face the best player of the tournament. No wonder, then, that he is only the underdog at Betano.
In my Auger-Aliassime Otte tip I will now reveal what chances I see for the supposed underdog and explain why even the Canadian can be cracked on a good day!
The ATP Finals? For Oscar Otte, that’s still a dream he won’t achieve in 2022. Germany’s second-best tennis player, the No. 1 in Alexander Zverev’s long absence, will nevertheless look back on this season happily.
He is knocking on the door of the Top 50, has annoyed or even beaten quite a few world stars this year. Especially on grass, the 29-year-old thrilled for weeks. Had it not been for a persistent injury, who knows how many titles he could have won.
After he had lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the first round of the US Open without a chance, he also had to stop surprisingly early in Metz and Sofia. Compared to the Astana Open, where he was also eliminated in round 1, there were differences in performance.
In Astana, Otte showed himself from a very good side, when he ran out of steam only shortly before the end in his 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 against Marin Cilic. He allowed the Croat 16 break chances, is Otte getting tired?
In Florence, he doesn’t want to be unsettled so easily and put in a strong performance at the start. Against Marton Fucsovics, no slouch, he came back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and got stronger with each game.
It was only his second win since Wimbledon, and now he has to play the player who is seeded number 1 in Tuscany! Oscar Otte and Felix Auger-Aliassime have never met in the main draw.
It is four years since they met in the Marburg qualifier, when the Canadian won a real thriller 6-4, 7-5. This time he will play his first match in the round of 16 and does not want to show any weakness against Otte.
The German betting companies have of course also taken a look at the world rankings and are therefore favouring Auger-Aliassime with odds of 1.25 to 4.20.
But is the 22-year-old really unbeatable? At the US Open he was knocked out flat in the 2nd round against Jack Draper, but a few weeks later at the Laver Cup he provided a real exclamation mark.
Although he lost an incredibly close match against Matteo Berrettini, he actually managed the feat of beating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6. A victory that boosted his self-confidence?
Only to a limited extent, because in Astana he lost to Roberto Bautista-Agut right at the beginning. Admittedly, a 4-6, 6-7 against the Spaniard can happen. It is usually the close duels that the young Canadian loses too often.
Auger-Aliassime himself knows and admits: “It is still very difficult for him to keep up the level. Therefore, it would not be the first time that he loses to an outsider in the 1st round.
My Auger-Aliassime Otte tip
For Oscar Otte, a conciliatory end to the year would be the reward of a strong 2022. His engine has sputtered mightily since his injury, but now he has finally won again. A match against an absolute top star, does it come too soon or just at the right time?
Felix Auger-Aliassime is a player who can hardly be pigeonholed. Sometimes he outplays Novak Djokovic, then he loses outright against an outsider. Since Otto’s fighting spirit is back in full force, I suspect a close match and am therefore guessing:
Otte wins at least one set
