We know the name of the first semi-finalist of the Antwerp ATP. This is Roberto Bautista Agut.
Roberto Bautista Agut (ATP 60) is the first to qualify for the final four of the European Open tennis tournament, the ATP 250 tournament in Antwerp. Friday, the Spaniard defeated the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 21), seeded N.3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in 2h42, in the quarter-finals , at the Lotto Arena.
Auger-Aliassime took the lead in the first set, but he lost the rhythm from the second set. The 2022 winner of the Antwerp tournament, usually very comfortable on hard courts and indoors, was no longer able to capitalize on his powerful serve despite 19 aces in his favor during the match.
Bautista Agut put the pressure on with his first two breaks in the second round and was almost no longer threatened with his commitment. The 36-year-old veteran showed consistency, extending the effort until leading 5-3 in the third set.
The Canadian then rebelled and forced the tie-break. The rallies became shorter and the fouls multiplied after more than two and a half hours of fighting, when Bautista Agut created three match points. Auger-Aliassime repelled these, but he failed on a fourth.
Roberto Bautista Agut inflicts his first defeat on Félix Auger-Aliassime in Antwerp, he who lifted the trophy there in 2022. The Spaniard reaches his 46th ATP semi-final and will make an appearance in the last four of a tournament of the circuit for the 12th consecutive year.
In the next round of the tournament with 690,135 euros, Bautista Agut will meet the winner of the confrontation between the number one seed, the Australian Alex De Minaur (ATP 9), and the Frenchman Hugo Gaston, 77th in the world.
Later in the evening, Zizou Bergs (ATP 69) will play his quarter-final against the American Marcos Giron (ATP 47).
atp anvers Roberto Bautista Agut
