By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday June 29, 2021
German qualifier Oscar Otte has the utmost respect for two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
The 27-year-old German knows a thing or two about perseverance himself. Not only did he make his first Wimbledon main draw through qualifying this year, he also won the tournament’s second match tiebreaker on Day 2 when he finished off his victory over Arthur Rinderknech, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 13-12(2).
Otte, who will face Murray in the second round, says that the great Scot is a massive inspiration.
“When I watched his documentary when it came out, actually, I was crying,” he said. “It was so emotional and so inspiring. I mean, I'm probably talking for other players, too. He's just huge icon in the sport.”
Otte is looking forward to a battle with Murray—and not expecting a lot of crowd support.
“Will be a pretty big match tomorrow. The crowd probably won't be on my side, but that's okay for me, of course. I have my coach here, my girlfriend I think can be enough. But in general, he's inspiring athlete and, yeah, I'm really happy to have a chance to play against him tomorrow.”
The Andy Murray documentary, entitled “Resurfacing” is still available on Amazon. It goes through Murray’s hip resurfacing surgery—and his comeback to the court—in graphic detail.
Otte says he’s not surprised that Murray made it back, and believes the 34-year-old can even climb higher.
“Everybody knows he's one of the best tennis players ever, and when he gets in control of his body, I think everybody knows he can still beat the top guys and come far in tournaments,” he said. “So I'm actually not really surprised. He has a big team behind him, physios, everything. I think they are taking care of him very good, and, yeah, he's just an unreal athlete and one of the best ever, for sure.”