Roberto Bautista Agut

Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in singles, which he first achieved on 4 November 2019.

Bautista Agut has won eleven ATP singles titles out of twenty one finals, the biggest win being the 2018 Dubai Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 tournament. His biggest final has been the 2016 Shanghai Masters, where he lost to Andy Murray. His best result at a major has been at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the semifinals.

Tennis career

Juniors

As a junior, Bautista Agut compiled a singles win–loss record of 41–13, reaching as high as No. 47 in junior world rankings in July 2006.

2009–2012: Pro tour highlights

In 2009, Bautista Agut qualified for the ATP 500 tournament in Valencia, where he lost to Albert Montañés in the first round.

He qualified for his first Grand Slam appearance in the 2012 Australian Open. He lost in the first round to Ricardo Mello in straight sets. On 13 August 2012, Bautista Agut broke into the top 100 for the first time after strong performances in Challenger tournaments. He reached his first ATP-level quarterfinal at St. Petersburg later that year, losing to Fabio Fognini.

2013: First final

His first tournament of 2013, in Chennai, saw him reach his first career ATP final. Bautista Agut defeated world No. 6, Tomáš Berdych, in the quarterfinals in three sets and faced world No. 9, Janko Tipsarević, in the final, to whom he lost despite winning the first set.

Bautista Agut then followed with his then career-best Grand Slam performance at the Australian Open. After defeating Fabio Fognini in a first round five-setter, he fell to Jürgen Melzer in the second round.

At Roland Garros, he reached the third round, after failing to even qualify at the main event for three consecutive occasions. His run ended to local Jérémy Chardy.

At the Topshelf Open, Bautista Agut went through to the quarterfinals, before losing to Xavier Malisse.

At the Wimbledon, he went on to make another second-round appearance after defeating Russian qualifier Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round. However, he fell to his childhood idol, David Ferrer, in the second round, losing in four sets.

Bautista Agut then took part at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. He made it to the semifinal where he lost to eventual champion Fabio Fognini.
On 15 July, Bautista Agut broke the top 50 for the first time.

At the US Open, he achieved another second round finish. After beating Thomaz Bellucci in the first round, he faced Ferrer in the second, where Bautista Agut lost in four sets.

He finished the year with a quarterfinal appearance at the St. Petersburg Open, defeated by eventual champion Ernests Gulbis.

Bautista Agut finished the 2013 season ranked No. 58.

2014: First two titles and top 15

His 2014 campaign began in Auckland, where he made the semifinals of the Heineken Open. He lost to third seed and eventual champion John Isner after winning the first set.

Bautista Agut started at the Australian Open with a first-round victory over Tim Smyczek. In the second, he faced and upset world No. 5 Juan Martín del Potro in five sets, his first victory against a top-ten player.

These surprising performances earned him a call-up to Spain for their clash with Germany in the Davis Cup. Bautista Agut lost both of his rubbers to Philipp Kohlschreiber and Daniel Brands. Germany won the tie 4–1.

In March, Bautista Agut participated in the first Masters 1000 event of the year at Indian Wells. In the second round, he faced Tomáš Berdych and achieved his second top-ten win of the year, winning in three sets after losing the first. His tournament ended in the fourth round with a defeat to Ernests Gulbis.

In May, Roberto participated in the Madrid Masters. He made it to the tournament's semifinals after beating former top-ten players, Tommy Robredo, Fernando Verdasco, and an in-form Barcelona finalist Santiago Giraldo en route to this stage. In the semifinal, Bautista Agut was defeated by world No. 1, Rafael Nadal.

Roberto then played in the French Open. This was his first Grand Slam tournament where he was one of the top 32 seeded players, seeded 27th. Bautista Agut beat Paolo Lorenzi, and Frenchman Benoît Paire but he was unable to beat world No. 6 Tomáš Berdych, ending his tournament in the third round after a four-set defeat.

In preparation for Wimbledon, he played in the Topshelf Open, a grass-court tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch, as the third seed. Bautista Agut won his first ATP title there, defeating former champion Benjamin Becker in the final in three sets.

He then played in the Wimbledon Championships. After defeating Steve Johnson and Jan Hernych, his run ended at the hands of the defending champion Andy Murray in the third round.

He went back to playing on clay courts as the third seed in the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. In the semifinal, Bautista Agut recorded an upset, beating defending champion Fabio Fognini for the second time in his career. This result led him to take on Lukáš Rosol in the final, his third professional ATP tournament final. Bautista Agut won in three sets, claiming his second 250-level title.

In the US Open, Bautista Agut reached the fourth round, after defeating Andreas Haider-Maurer, Tim Smyczek, and Adrian Mannarino on the way to taking on the No. 2 seed Roger Federer. He lost in straight sets. This was his best ever US Open campaign and he equaled his best career Grand Slam result (2014 Australian Open).

Bautista Agut went to Russia to play in the Kremlin Cup tournament held in Moscow. He advanced to the final where he took on the 2014 US Open champion, Marin Čilić, in the final. His tournament ended with a tight straight-set defeat.

After his outstanding season, Bautista Agut won the ATP's Most Improved Player award.

At the end of the best season in his career so far, he finished 2014 with a singles ranking of world No. 15, and a doubles ranking of No. 255.

2015: Out of top 20

Bautista Agut began his new season, as the third seed, in the Aircel Chennai Open. He progressed to the semifinal where he lost to British qualifier Aljaž Bedene.

In February, Bautista Agut traveled to France to play in the Open 13 tournament in Marseille. His tournament ended in the semifinals against local Gaël Monfils.

In April, Bautista Agut travelled to Spain to play on the clay courts at the Barcelona Open