By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, October 15, 2016
A resilient Roberto Bautista Agut shocked Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 6-4, scoring his first win over a world No. 1 and reaching his first Masters 1000 final in Shanghai.
Photo credit: Shanghai Rolex Masters
Robert Bautista Agut saw Novak Djokovic defiantly deny three match points.
When the world No. 1 moved forward on the fourth match point, Bautista Agut saw opportunity.
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A resilient Bautista Agut drilled a forehand pass down the line then dropped to his knees in joy, sealing his third straight break to close a stirring 6-4, 6-4 upset of Djokovic and reach the Shanghai Rolex Masters final.
Winless in five prior meetings with Djokovic and in five prior clashes with world No. 1 players, Bautista Agut achieved a day of firsts.
The 15th-seeded Spaniard defeated Djokovic for the first time, scored his first career victory over a reigning world No. 1 and roared into his first career Masters 1000 final.
Bautista Agut played with more poise on pivotal points: He saved seven of nine break points and converted four of his five break-point chances in a high-quality victory.
Djokovic, who was 21-1 in Shanghai since 2012, was contesting his seventh Shanghai final, but was his own worst enemy at times. He smashed a racquet in rage, struggled to land first serves on crucial points and even sprayed his most reliable weapon, the two-handed backhand, down the stretch.
"I did have my chances, a lot of chances, but (I was) losing my service games," Djokovic said. "The important moments he was more consistent, more solid and I just made too many unforced errrors. I'd like things to go differently, but take my hat off to a better player who deserved to win."
The 28-year-old Bautista Agut will play either second-ranked Andy Murray or world No. 32 Gilles Simon in Sunday's final.
Bidding for his 10th final of the season, the reigning champion lose only seven points on serve in the opening set but failed to convert two break points. Bautista Agut converted his lone break point in the last game of the opener to snatch a one-set lead.
Matching Djokovic's defensive prowess and often winning running rallies by digging out flat drives from the corners, Bautista Agut grew in confidence as the second set progressed.
Meanwhile, Djokovic was fighting a battle on multiple fronts, dealing with a dialed in opponent, slapping his racquet against his legs in anger after some errors and bickering with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes at times.
When the top seed missed a forehand in the fifth game of the second set, he shredded the neck of his red shirt. Djokovic played a point with the shirt hanging loose then walked over to change shirts, incurring a time violation warning from chair umpire Bernardes, which elicited sarcastic applause from the 12-time Grand Slam champion.
Signs of stress escalated into full-blown fissures as Djokovic netted a half volley to fall behind 2-4.
Digging in, Djokovic soared for a smash and followed with a fine angled drop volley to break back for 3-4.
Every time the world No. 1 made a push, Bautista Agut made a stand. A wild backhand error down the line followed by a scattered slice backhand saw Djokovic donate the break back.
Serving for the final at 5-3, Bautista Agut saved a second break point with a drop volley. That shot was the first in a series of electric strikes from both man in the ninth game.
Staring down match point, Djokovic boldly stepped inside the line and drilled a backhand return winner down the line to save it. Bautista Agut answered with an inside-out forehand winner for a second match point. Again, Djokovic lifted his level with an audacious drop shot followed by an angled backhand winner.
On the third match point, Djokovic flattened out a forehand down the line forcing a sixth deuce. Bautista Agut, who showed signs of strain catching his ball toss three times in the game, finally cracked committing successive forehand errors as Djokovic broke back capping a 12-and-a-half minute game for 4-5.
That was the world No. 1's last stand. Djokovic netted a forehand pass down the line—his third forehand error of the game—to face a fourth match point.
Racing forward, Djokovic's head spun when Bautista Agut lashed the forehand pass down the line then dropped to his knees in joy concluding a one hour, 48-minute victory.
The three-time champion showed his sportsmanship giving Bautista Agut a respectful embrace at net and patting him on the chest.
Before the tournament, Djokovic expounded on his desire to reconnect with the joy of playing tennis, but on this day frustration and a fired-up opponent got the best of him.
Afterward, Djokovic continued his griping with Bernardes over the time violation warning.
"Your action delayed him to serve," Bernardes said. "If it happened in normal play, I not say anything to you."
"Ridiculous," the three-time champion replied before walking off court waving to Shanghai fans.