Love interest finally greeting Shakespearean character (7)

I believe the answer is:

othello

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'shakespearean character' is the definition.
'othello' can be an answer for 'character' (I have seen 'Jealous character' mean 'othello' so perhaps 'character' could also mean 'othello'). I am not certain of the 'shakespearean' bit.

'love interest finally greeting' is the wordplay.
'love' becomes 'o' (love means zero in tennis).
'finally' indicates one should take the final letters.
'greeting' becomes 'hello' (hello is a kind of greeting).
The last letter of 'interest' is 't'.
'o'+'t'+'hello'='OTHELLO'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for othello that I've seen before include "game with counters" , "Shakespearean role" , "Eponymous hero" , "drama!" , "Shakespeare tragedy" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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