The sensationalist ends Seppi's New York fairy tale

Seppi lost on Saturday evening (CEST) against the German qualifier and high-flyer Oscar Otte after just over two and a half hours with 3:6, 4:6, 6:2, 5:7. The Überetscher missed out on making it to the round of 100 of the US Open for the first time, but has collected a lot of sympathy and recognition points these days. And: He will most likely remain in the top XNUMX this year.

On paper, Seppi was considered the favorite on Saturday. In the world rankings, the 37-year-old is in 89th place, while Otte is “only” in 144th place. The 28-year-old German also had to go through the tough grind of qualifying. But the Cologne native had a fantastic run in New York: he eliminated Lorenzo Sonego (ATP 23) and Denis Kudla (ATP 92) in the previous rounds. In short: Otte is a sensation in the Big Apple.

Oscar Otte is in the round of 16. © APA/getty / AL BELLO

But Seppi also became a bit of a sensation in New York, as he was highly rated Martin Fucsovics (ATP 41) and Hubert Hurkacz (ATP 13) in the first two rounds. So the match had a lot to offer. In fact, the fans got to see a hard-fought third-round game in which Seppi quickly fell 0-2 down after sets, but then launched another remarkable attack. But Otte was simply too strong that day. He will now face Italy's best tennis player Matteo Berrettini in the round of XNUMX. Starting difficulties at Seppi Seppi had difficulty getting into the game in midsummer temperatures on Court 17 in Flushing Meadows. His first two victories in this tournament left their mark; the Kalterer player appeared tired, played wait-and-see and let his counterpart take the initiative. In three of his four service games in the first set, the 37-year-old allowed break opportunities, two of which Otte took advantage of: first to 3:1 and then to 5:3, which is why the German then confidently closed the first set.

In the second section, “Andy” got off to a better start and led 2-1. But after that, the Überetscher made many slight mistakes, while the high-flyer Otte served well and benefited from the mistakes made by his opponent, who was nine years his senior. The result: 6:4 set win for the German, who now led 2:0. A qualifier driven by euphoria on the one hand, a visibly ailing Seppi on the other - in short: at that point there was no longer much to suggest that the 37-year-old should come back in this game. The veteran returns impressively But you should never write off Andreas Seppi. The South Tyrolean took a short bathroom break and returned to the pitch transformed. He promptly took the serve from Otte and moved away to 3-0. Because Seppi then became more and more confident in his own service and his game seemed much more solid overall, he won the set with a break opportunity. Kalterer was now finally in the game!

This was also evident in the fourth sentence. What was noticeable: Seppi's service in particular now worked smoothly, while Otte clearly had to fight harder to keep up. Nevertheless, both professionals delivered their serves. But then came the fateful 11th game, in which Otte took the service from the veteran and shortly afterwards converted the first match point.

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The sensationalist ends Seppi's New York fairy tale

Andreas Seppi caused enthusiasm and amazement at the US Open. In the third round of the major tournament in New York, the 37-year-old Kalterer's late summer fairytale came to an end.

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