Tag Archives: Topshelf Open

Bautista Agut Defeats Ernests Gulbis to Reach Kremlin Cup Final

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It’s been a banner year for Roberto Bautista Agut, winning the first two ATP World Tour titles of his career this summer. And, now he’s gunning for his third.

The 26-year-old Spanish tennis player reached his third final of the year after a 6-4, 6-4 victory over third seed Ernests Gulbis at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Saturday.

Roberto Bautista Agut

Bautista Agut, the tournament’s fifth seed, will meet second seed Marin Cilic in the championship match.

In the 15th position in the Emirates ATP Race To London, he claimed 75 percent of his service points and did not drop serve through 10 service games against Gulbis.

He broke the Latvian once in each set to close out the match in 82 minutes.

Bautista Agut improved to 1-3 in his his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Gulbis, who most recently prevailed in three sets in their fourth-round encounter at the BNP Paribas Open in March.

 

He previously won his first ATP title at the Topshelf Open in the Netherlands in June, and then followed it up with a championship win at the Mercedes Cup in Germany in July.

Bautista Agut Defeats Lukas Rosol at the Mercedes Cup to Claim Second ATP Title

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And then there were two for Roberto Bautista Agut…

Less than one month after winning his first ATP title, the 26-year-old Spanish tennis player defeated Lukas Rosol 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the Mercedes Cup final on Sunday for his second career crown.

Roberto Bautista Agut

The third-seeded Bautista Agut saved five of the six break points he faced and converted three of his six chances to win the heated match in 1 hour, 42 minutes.

Rosol, ranked No. 48 in the world, fired 13 aces to Bautista Agut’s two, but the Czech player was unable to prevent the 23rd-ranked Spaniard from claiming his second title.

“Since the start of the season, I believed a lot in myself and my work,” Bautista Agut told the ATP website. “I’ve been playing really well, won a lot of matches and it was only a question of time before this happened.”

Bautista Agut, who defeated defending champion and top-seeded Fabio Fognini on Saturday, claimed his maiden victory at the Topshelf Open last month.

Rosol, who knocked out second-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in his semifinal, was also bidding for his second title after winning at Bucharest last year.

“I was looking to find a good rhythm, but the serve was not working at all,” Rosol said. “I had to risk a lot with my shots. The level was not as good as the previous rounds and it’s a pity because I felt really good this week.”

Bautista Agut Defeats Benjamin Becker to Claim First Ever ATP Title

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It’s a hard-fought first ATP title for Roberto Bautista Agut…

The 26-year-old Spanish tennis player mounted an impressive rally to claim his maiden World Tour crown on Saturday, beating Benjamin Becker in the Topshelf Open final.

Roberto Bautista Agut

Bautista Agut captured his first title with a 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory, overcoming 13 aces and a 32-minute first set in favor of his German counterpart.

One of the ATP World Tour’s rising stars in 2014, the Spaniard has soared from World No. 73 in the ATP rankings at the beginning of the year to a new career-high of No. 23 with his title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Bautista Agut, the tournament’s third-seed becomes the second first-time champion this year after Federico Delbonis won in Sao Paulo. He was competing in just his second final, having previously fallen in the 2013 Aircel Chennai Open title match to Janko Tipsarevic.

Becker raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set behind a pair of early breaks. Bautista Agut was unable to counter Becker’s pace and guile in the baseline rallies as the German veteran needed just 32 minutes to take the opener.

Bautista Agut’s game would gain traction as the match progressed, however, and he would snatch the second set in a tiebreaker and surge to an early lead in the third set behind a break in the fifth game. As Becker pressed for a break back, Bautista Agut held steady, and he would hold on for the title in exactly two hours.

He’s the fifth different Spanish winner this year, withRafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Guillermo Garcia-Lopezand Fernando Verdasco also bringing home trophies to the Iberian nation. He’s also the second different Spaniard to triumph in Den Bosch after Ferrer prevailed in 2008 and 2012.

“It took me a while to recover from a very long match yesterday and I was getting better and better after the first set,” said Bautista Agut, who earns $77,350 and 250 ATP rankings points with the win.

“I was more focused and started to feel better physically. I was trying to not think too much and play my game point by point. It was the same nervousness as every match. I played calm and aggressive in the last game. I had to celebrate hard (after match point) and enjoy the moment.”