A hairy affair for Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev had more trouble with Oscar Otte than he would have liked. The French Open finalist not only had to contend with his opponent, but also with the changeover from clay to grass court. In the end, however, Alexander Zeverev came out on top as expected, winning 6:7(5), 6:3, 6:4.

It was a first set of serves. Both Alexander Zverev and Oscar Otte served superbly, not conceding a single break point until the tie-break. Oscar Otte then got off to the better start, immediately managing a mini-break. Alexander Zverev also managed this later, but at the end of the tie-break the big outsider was actually 7:5 ahead.

During the break in the set, the writer of these lines remembers the year 1998, when there was a very special match between two German players in the first round of the grass court tournament in Halle. Back then, Hendrik Dreekmann from Bielefeld defeated none other than Boris Becker in three sets. Will Oscar Otte actually manage to defeat the much more prominent Alexander Zverev?

The answer is well known. In the end, Alexander Zverev left Centre Court as the winner. Oscar Otte tried everything to prevent his opponent from getting into the match. In particular, his undercut backhands, played long to the baseline, almost made Alexander Zverev desperate. Nevertheless, Alexander Zverev became more active, stepped up his game and kept up the pressure. He forced Oscar Otte to make mistakes. A break in both the second and third sets was enough for second seed Zverev to reach the round of 16.

The on-court interview following the match was entertaining. Mischa Zverev, who stood in for the stadium announcer who was ill, asked his brother whether he would have his hair cut at some point. Answer: "My hair will stay as long as it doesn't fall out. You can see from our father how that can be." The father and coach then took off his cap.... You don't always have to talk about tennis. Alexander Zverev certainly wants to continue to let his actions speak for themselves during the tournament.