Seven Days Later, New Dad Bautista Agut Eliminates Defending Champ In Hamburg
Just one week after becoming a father for the first time, Roberto Bautista Agut claimed a memorable victory in his opening match at the Hamburg European Open on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old eliminated two-time defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3 to record his 15th win in 20 matches this year. Bautista Agut is through to the second round in Hamburg for the third time. The Spaniard also reached the second round in the German port city in 2013 and 2015.
Bautista Agut became a father on 15 September, when his wife gave birth to their son — Roberto — in Valencia. After the match, he received a message of support from Alex Corretja. The former World No. 2 joked that Bautista Agut would now be tired from sleepless nights rather than his on-court efforts.
“It was very tiring last week,” said Bautista Agut. “Alex knows well. I think he has three or four kids. I am very proud of my family and very happy to have a new baby in our lives and it was a really nice experience to live with my wife. We are really proud of the kid.”
Bautista Agut improves to 3-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Basilashvili, who had won his past 10 matches at the ATP 500. The fourth seed will face Dominik Koepfer for a spot in the quarter-finals. The Rome quarter-finalist needed almost two and a half hours to overcome Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-1.
Kitzbühel runner up Yannick Hanfmann continued his strong run of form to defeat third seed Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-3. The German wild card served well throughout the 74-minute clash, winning 91 per cent of first-serve points (32/35) to confirm a second-round meeting against Cristian Garin.
The Chilean charged past Kei Nishikori 6-0, 6-3 to earn only his second victory in five matches since the resumption of the ATP Tour. Garin is bidding to lift his third clay trophy of the year this week. The World No. 22 earned titles on the surface at the Cordoba Open and the Rio Open presented by Claro in February.