By Tennis Now | Friday, July 26, 2019
Joao Sousa rallied past top-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, into his first career Gstaad semifinal.
Photo credit: Keystone SDA/Swiss Open Gstaad Facebook
Joao Sousa delivered fierce resilience to surprise familiar nemesis Roberto Bautista Agut.
Sousa rallied past the top-seeded Spaniard, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, into his first career Gstaad semifinal.
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It was Sousa's first win over Bautista Agut since a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in the 2015 Valencia final.
The fifth-seeded Sousa surged into his first ATP semifinal since Chengdu last September.
Sousa is aiming for his fourth career title. He will face either Thomas Fabbiano or Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the semifinals.
All three of Sousa's wins against Bautista Agut came after he dropped the first set.
The world No. 49 converted five of six break points today, including breaking in the final game to close a two hour, three-minute upset when Bautista Agut slapped a forehand into net.
Earlier, Alberto Ramos-Vinolas swept his all-Spanish quarterfinal from sixth-seeded Roberto Carballes Baena, 6-2, 6-1, rolling into his first Swiss Open semifinal. It's the second straight final four appearance for the 31-year-old Spaniard, who was a semifinalist in Bastad last week.
The left-handed Ramos-Vinolas will play seventh-seeded Pablo Andujar in an all-Spanish semifinal. Andujar snapped Dusan Lajovic's five-match winning streak with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win.
Andujar, the 2014 Gstaad champion, improved to 10-3 at the Swiss Open. The 33-year-old Andujar is playing for his fifth career title.