Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia defeated Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-6(5), 6-2 to capture the 29th Qatar ExxonMobil Open title on Saturday.
🇬🇪 Nikoloz Basilashvili is the last man standing in Doha.
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 13, 2021
He takes the title with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Roberto Bautista Agut. pic.twitter.com/oIzFC0MAnj
H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, accompanied by Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the tournament Nasser bin Ghanim Al Khelaifi and director of the tournament Karim Al Alami, crowned the Georgian player with the championship cup and the Spanish player with the second place cup.
World No. 42 did not face a breakpoint, as he powered through heavy winds to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(5), 6-2. Basilashvili, who saved a match point to defeat Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, has now won his past four ATP Tour championship matches (4-2), the ATP tour website reported.
Basilashvili entered the final with a 1-3 ATP Head2Head record against Bautista Agut, but he improved to 2-0 against the fifth seed on hard courts with his victory in the final. Both of the 29-year-old's wins against Bautista Agut have come in the Middle East.
In windy conditions on Centre Court, both players needed time to adjust to the conditions. The set was dominated by serve, but the opening six points of the tie-break were won by the returning player. Basilashvili was rewarded for taking risks on his backhand side, as he punished short balls to strike winners and force his opponent into errors.
Basilashvili earned the first two breakpoints of the match at 3-2 in the second set, and he took his chance to close in on victory. The four-time ATP Tour titlist ripped two cross-court backhand winners to take a 4-2 lead and, two games later, he earned a second break to capture the title.
Bautista Agut was attempting to lift his 10th ATP Tour title. The 32-year-old entered the championship match on a nine-match winning streak at the ATP 250, dating back to the start of his title run in 2019. Bautista Agut defeated top seed Dominic Thiem and third seed Andrey Rublev in back-to-back matches to reach his 18th tour-level final (9-9).
H.H. the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani also attended and witnessed the final of the 29th Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2021 for men's tennis held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Source: ATP Tour
Image Credit: sportskeeda.com
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