Nikoloz Basilashvili yesterday claimed his maiden Qatar ExxonMobil Open title after defeating an in-form Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the final at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
The Georgian played top quality tennis in windy conditions last night to deny the World No. 13 Spaniard – the 2019 champion – a second crown in Doha, winning the match in 1 hour and 29 minutes.
The Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also attended the title clash. QTF President Nasser Al Khelaifi was also present on the occasion.
The World No. 42 – coming to the Qatari capital with a five-match losing streak – became the contender to lift the Falcon Trophy after he saved a match point to oust second seed Roger Federer in the quarter-final.
Yesterday’s title triumph for Basilashvili – his fourth ATP Tour trophy – is a huge breakthrough for the Georgian, who lost 14 of his last 16 matches before Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
“Super happy. I was not expecting that,” the Georgian, told reporters in a video conference yesterday.
“But same time, I was working a lot. I was feeling good on court. I was playing last half of year with a lot of stress in my body. I was not able to put 100% on court on any matches. This week I somehow found a way to deal with these stressful moments and very happy to get through,” he added.
Basilashvili, 29, agreed that defeating Federer, who was making a comeback after Australian Open 2020 following two knee surgeries, lifted his confidence on Thursday.
“I think, you know, it would be pretty tough for him (Federer) first match after 14 months, but in my case, it gave me a lot of confidence. Even though he came back after a long time, for me to beat Roger, my idol (smiling), it gave me a lot of confidence. That’s why I think I played the next two matches a bit more relaxed,” said Basilashvili, who broke Bautista Agut’s 12-match winning streak yesterday.
On the challenge posed by strong winds yesterday, the Georgian said: “Very tough conditions. It was very strong gusts today. But I had good mindset. From the beginning I was accepting things very good. I was concentrating on just to play the game and just to look at the ball and move a lot. It was tough physically, as well, because for sure you have to move twice a hard. And I managed that.”
In the beginning of the final, both the players faced difficulty in adjusting with gusty winds at the centre court, winning most of the points on serves in the first set. However, as the opening set reached the tie-break, six points were won by the player returning, with Basilashvili benefiting from his aggressive approach. He was also superb with his backhands, smashing the winners to put Bautista Agut under pressure.
The Georgian, who did not face a break point in the final, picked first two break points of the final in the second set and collected points from two brilliant cross-court backhand shots to take a 4-2 lead, before capturing the title.
Bautista Agut admitted Basilashvili was a better player in the title clash under challenging conditions.
“I don’t like to lose. I think I could have played a better, but today it was his final. I want to congratulate Basilashvili, he played great and aggressively,” the 32-year-old said in an on-court interview.
“Now (for me) it is time to recover, to keep working to keep improving and hopefully, I will come back here to get the title again,” he said.
The nine-time ATP Tour title winner also praised Qatar’s organisation, saying he was looking to come back to Doha for a long time to come.
“I want to congratulate the tournament’s organisers. We are always pleased to come to Qatar. For me, this tournament is one of my favourites. I always enjoy playing on this court and I hope to continue playing this tournament for long,” said Bautista Agut.
Meanwhile, Basilashvili collected the top prize of $69,520 for winning the tournament while runners-up Bautista Agut received $51,340.
