By Tennis Now | Saturday, March 3, 2018
Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Lucas Pouille, 6-3, 6-4, in the Dubai final to collect his first ATP 500 level championship and second title of 2018.
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Roberto Bautista Agut took his career to a new level in the desert.
Bautista Agut broke serve three times defeating Lucas Pouille, 6-3, 6-3, in the Dubai final to capture the first ATP 500-level championship of his career.
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The 29-year-old Spaniard collected his second title of the season and eighth of his career playing proactive tennis.
"I played very good, very aggressively," Bautista Agut said. "I didn't give him all the court, all the control of the game. I played very good tennis tonight."
Bautista Agut opened the season stopping Juan Martin del Potro in the Auckland final then suffered a three-match losing streak, including falling to Fernando Verdasco in the Australian Open first round.
Playing with calm and control from the start, the third-seeded Spaniard surrendered just one set in five tournament wins this week.
Contesting his second final in as many weeks, Pouille was playing for his second title of the year and a spot in the Top 10, but Bautista Agut denied both pursuits.
The second-seeded Frenchman served a tournament-high 44 aces en route to the final, but his serve let him down today. Pouille served 49 percent and won just 14 of 29 second-serve points.
Deadlocked at 4-all in the second set, Pouille raced forward behind a forehand down the line.
Reading the shot, Bautista Agut darted to his left and spun a backhand pass crosscourt for triple break point. Bautista Agut broke for 5-4 then served out the biggest title of his career.