By Alberto Amalfi | Friday, July 29, 2022
No. 3-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut fought off Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 7-6(3) to become the 19th Spaniard to reach the Kitzbühel final in the Open Era.
Photo credit: Getty
A resilient Roberto Bautista Agut stared down turbulence with competitive calm to land his 21st ATP final in Kitzbühel.
In a tense all-Spanish battle, Bautista Agust lost a second-set lead before subduing Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 7-6(3) to become the 19th Spaniard to reach the Kitzbühel final in the Open Era.
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Bautista Agut raised his semifinals record to 21-21.
After embracing a stiff challenge from his compatriot, Bautista Agut received a warm hug from his young son, Robeto, who ran out onto the red clay to give his famous father a hug.
"It feels very well. It was a really tough match," Bautista Agust said. "Albert is a really good player on clay. He really plays good here in Kitzbuhel.
"He already played good here and I had to play really well today."
The third-seeded Bautista Agut will play either 30-year-old German Yannick Hanfmann or Austrian wild card Filip Misolic in tomorrow's final.Bautista Agut is playing for his 11th career title.
Former Wimbledon semifinalist Bautista Agut was in control up a set and a double break at 5-2 today when he grew a bit tentative, 2019 finalist Ramos-Vinolas elevated his game and the match got tight.
Following an injuy time-out, Ramos-Vinolas broke back, held and then fought off three match points to break again for 5-all. On the third match point, the left-hander lashed a forehand right off the line handcuffing Bautista Agut into an errant backhand.
Tension spiked as Bautista Agut appeared to grow annoyed with his compatriot's support box and Ramos-Vinolas was hit with an audible obscenity warning later in the set.
The 34-year-old Bautista Agut held at love to force the tiebreaker. Deadlocked at 3-all, Ramos-Vinolas blinked putting a return off a second serve into net.
Turning his shoulders and hips into his shots, Bautista Agust blistered a forehand winner for 5-3 then drew an error for three more match points. Bautista Agut closed in two hours, four minutes on a netted return.
“It was a really tough end,” said Bautista Agut. “I served two times for the match but unfortunately, I could not win.
"At 5-4 I had three match points and he played very well, so I’m very happy about this tough win on this surface.”