Danger of stumbling for Oscar Otte
The German Tennis Federation has seen better times and has had far more players competing in Grand Slam tournaments. In the men’s singles, the hopes at the Stade Roland Garros this year rest on Oscar Otte, of course, alongside co-favourite Alexander Zverev, after Dominik Köpfer and Jan-Lennard Struff are not competing at the French Open.
Oscar Otte, however, has shown in recent months that he delivers solidly in every match and is sometimes capable of going above and beyond. The draw, however, does not mean well for the Cologne player. In the first round, however, he has a supposedly solvable but thankless task ahead of him in the form of Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena. Should he make it to the next round, he will probably face a tough opponent in the form of Jannik Sinner from Italy.
The 28-year-old German will not be able to afford a weak phase, because his Spanish rival played really well at the Challenger in Tunis last week and won the tournament there. Therefore, we expect it to be a long match and tend to place a tip on more than 3.5 sets between Roberto Carballes Baena and Oscar Otte.
Roberto Carballés – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 102
Position in the seedings: unseeded
Roberto Carballes Baena is a pure Spanish clay court specialist. The 29-year-old from Granada has hardly been able to pull off anything on other surfaces in his long career, with his track record on clay also being manageable, at least on the ATP circuit. In 2018, he won his only tournament on the tour in Quito, Ecuador, admittedly only a 250. He failed to reach another final at this level.
Challenger victory in Tunis
In the Future and Challenger field, on the other hand, he has a number of successes to his name. Nevertheless, the Spaniard never got beyond 71st place in the world rankings. The Andalusian has also had limited success at the French Open up to this point. His best result at the Stade Roland Garros was the third round in 2020. His record at the French Open is only 3:5 victories.
On the other hand, he showed good form last week. The Spaniard won the tournament at a Challenger in Tunis. Thus, the 29-year-old enters Paris with the recommendation of five victories in a row. However, his opponents were not from the top shelf either, as the elite were either competing in Geneva or Lyon, or taking a break from tournaments before the French Open.
With 10:1 sets at the tournament in Tunisia, however, he has shown that he will not be eliminated in passing. Therefore, we expect the Spaniard to win at least one set and that would also be an indication to target the odds for more than 3.5, maybe even more than 4.5 sets in the match between Oscar Otto and Roberto Carballes Baena.
Oscar Otte – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 60
Position in the seedings: unseeded
Oscar Otte is performing well on all surfaces. His acclimatisation on clay has worked out very well this season, considering his position in the rankings. The player from Cologne presented himself well against strong opponents in Belgrade, in Munich and also recently in Lyon. In Monte Carlo, however, he finished early and did not compete in the other Masters tournaments in Madrid and Rome.
Open account at Roland Garros
In Belgrade, the German prevailed against Aslan Karatsev, among others. At the home event in Munich, Oscar Otte was able to put US-American Reilly Opelka in his place and advanced to the semifinals there. Last week, the German was on court at the ATP tournament in Lyon. In the first round, he managed a clear victory against local hero Lucas Pouille.
Unfortunately, Oscar Otte had to play the extremely fit Argentine Sebastian Baez in the second round. The player from Cologne even showed his good side, but in the end had to admit defeat in three sets. The opening match at the Stade Roland Garros might prove to be less of a challenge.
The German has a score to settle with the French Open anyway. He has competed there five times, twice failing to qualify. Only once did the 29-year-old make it to the second round. His record of 1:3 victories is capable of improvement. However, the player from Cologne seems to be well prepared and therefore has big goals at the French Open.
Roberto Carballés – Oscar Otte Direct comparison / H2H-balance
When Roberto Caballes Baena and Oscar Otte meet for a tennis match, it is on clay and then in a major European capital. Twice the two players faced each other on the Challenger Tour, once in Lisbon and once in Rome. At a Grand Slam tournament, this pairing has now been drawn for the first time.
The direct comparison between the two opponents is 1-1. In 2017, Oscar Otte won in two sets in the last 16 in Lisbon. Roberto Caballes Baena, however, did not have to wait long for his revenge. Shortly afterwards, both met in the first round at the Challenger in Rome and there the Spaniard prevailed 2:0.
Roberto Carballés – Oscar Otte tip
Roberto Carballes Baena has come to the City of Love with a broad chest. He was only on the Challenger Tour in Tunis last week, but after a very stable week and only losing one set, he enters the Stade Roland Garros as a fresh tournament winner. Especially on clay, the Spaniard is a must-have.
The German is 42 positions ahead of the Spaniard in the ATP rankings and has made a name for himself in recent weeks, especially in Belgrade and Munich. Therefore, we still expect to be right between Oscar Otte and Roberto Carballes Baena with a bet on a victory for the German.
However, we still think it could be close. In the two previous matches between these two opponents, both have won once, even though these duels took place five years ago. We see the German in the lead in this match, but in the end we decided to play the betting odds on more than 3.5 sets between Roberto Carballes Baena.
