US Open 2021: Matteo Berrettini vs Oscar Otte preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (6) Matteo Berrettini vs Oscar Otte
Date: 6 September 2021
Tournament: 2021 US Open
Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $40,560,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN/ESPN 2 | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Matteo Berrettini vs Oscar Otte preview
Qualifier Oscar Otte finds himself in uncharted territory, having made it to the fourth round of a Slam for the first time in his career. He will face sixth seed Matteo Berrettini on Monday for a spot in the US Open quarterfinals.
The one thing that Otte is familiar with, however, is facing and beating Italians at Flushing Meadows. The German defeated 20th seed Lorenzo Sonego in the first round and then ousted Andreas Seppi in the third round on Saturday.
Otte was quite good against Seppi in most aspects of the game. He won 82% of his first-serve points and a respectable 37% of his return points.
More importantly, the German managed to display the kind of disciplined aggression that would hold him in good stead against any opponent. He struck 34 winners and committed seven fewer unforced errors in a 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 result.
Matteo Berrettini, meanwhile, defeated Ilya Ivashka 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in his third-round match on Saturday. But the former semifinalist at Flushing Meadows was far from convincing in his performance.
Berrettini struck a whopping 64 unforced errors - a figure almost twice that of Ivashka's. The Wimbledon runner-up did manage to stamp his authority on the first serve though, racking up 27 aces.
The Italian's second serve was far less potent, and it allowed Ivashka to generate as many as 12 break points. Unfortunately for the Belarusian, he could only convert two of them.
Matteo Berrettini vs Oscar Otte head-to-head
Matteo Berrettini leads Oscar Otte by a margin of 1-0 in the head-to-head. They had faced each other at Roland Garros in 2018, with the Italian winning in four sets.
Matteo Berrettini vs Oscar Otte prediction
Matteo Berrettini and Oscar Otte are both aggressive players, but the German has displayed greater control over his shots so far. Berrettini has been quite trigger-happy with his approach, as evidenced by the 137 unforced errors he has coughed up in his three matches.
Otte, on his part, has committed 96 unforced errors. Moreover, the Italian has struck 48 more winners than the German. Both players generally enjoy a good amount of success on their first serve, but it is Berrettini whose delivery can become unplayable at times.
The German's biggest advantage is that he has already faced someone similar to Berrettini's style, in the shape of Lorenzo Sonego. Even though Berrettini's attacking weaponry is superior to that of Sonego, the two Italians operate with a similar mindset.
There is no doubt that Berrettini is the heavy favorite in this fixture, but Otte will likely make things difficult for the Italian.
Prediction: Matteo Berrettini to win in five sets.