Wimbledon 2023, 1st round, Monday, 03.07.2023
The time of preparations, tests, experiments – it is finally over! In London, the fans have been scratching their feet for weeks, now Wimbledon 2023 can finally get underway. Of course, from a German point of view, we are particularly looking forward to the third Grand Slam of the year.
Admittedly, the players did not have much time to adjust from clay to grass. In the first round we will have to deal with a black-red-gold duel on Monday, so it is clear: A German will definitely slide into round 2.
And lo and behold, at Bet365 the clearly lower ranked player who struggled through the qualifiers is favoured. In my Koepfer Otte tip I will now reveal why I also recommend a win for the qualifier!
It’s been 32 years since Michael Stich, the last German player to triumph on the Holy Lawn of Wimbledon. No, the German fans have certainly not been spoiled in recent years; they have been waiting for a final since 1995.
Hopes for 2023 are rather dampened, but of course they would like to be happy about a few victories. So it is a good thing that Oscar Otte and Dominik Koepfer have to play each other in round 1, which guarantees success.
It is interesting to look at Oscar Otte’s path. No one has forgotten that 2022 was his year on grass! He beat several top stars, shone with a strong service and failed in the 3rd round at Wimbledon against a certain Carlos Alcaraz.
Times he probably remembers with joy and at the same time a lot of melancholy. Some injuries have led to quite a downfall, the Cologne native now finds himself beyond the top 200.
As a result, he had to start in the qualifying round in London, where he had already lost a lot of energy. After a sovereign 6-3, 6-3 against Benoit Paire, he had to fight a bit more in the 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 against Leandro Riedi.
In the last qualifying match, Otte won 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 against Marc Polmans and the way to the main round was cleared. Three wins in a row, that must have given him a real boost.
Five times before, he had been eliminated directly in the first round of a tournament, he had only won two matches in the main draw since the beginning of March. Now his self-confidence has been boosted again and he wants to take the next step on Monday.
Is it a good omen that Otte has never failed in the first round of Wimbledon? Three years ago, he met his compatriot Dominik Koepfer for the first and so far only time in the qualifying round in Cologne.
Back then, Otte won quite clearly with 6-1, 6-2, but that alone will not ensure that our betting providers will be in favour of him as the winner. He is ahead with odds of 1.65 to 2.30, so the difference is small.
Dominik Koepfer is number 86 in the world rankings, but he knows exactly what Otte has been through in the last 365 days. He was also injured for a long time, but came back quite strong in 2023.
Before the French Open, he reached two consecutive Challenger finals, but then failed to qualify in Paris. In Nottingham he started the grass court season, not against the strongest competition.
He did reach the semi-finals, but only beat players ranked lower than himself. Will this one Challenger be enough to judge how he is now on the fast surface?
Koepfer lost 4-6, 5-7, 6-7 to Daniel Elahi Galan in the first round of Wimbledon a year ago and would like to avoid a repeat of that disappointment on Monday.
My Koepfer Otte Tip
One has been out of form for months and surprised in qualifying, the other actually fought back strongly in 2023, but has provided little to speak of on grass.
It is truly not easy to determine the better player between Oscar Otte and Dominik Koepfer. After my analysis, I assume that we will have to deal with a close, intense match on Monday.
In my opinion, the qualification speaks for Otte, in which he could gain self-confidence. Koepfer was able to rest longer, but he lacks matches against opponents at eye level. For this reason, I now decide on the following tip:
Otte wins against Koepfer!
