- Roberto Bautista Agut claims his second title of the season with 6-3, 6-4 victory
- The Spaniard moves up to 16th in the ATP world rankings with the triumph
- Pouille climbs to 12th but would have broken into the top 10 if he had won
Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut claimed his second title of the season with victory over second seed Lucas Pouille in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Bautista Agut won 6-3, 6-4 in a hard-fought contest lasting an hour and 21 minutes to capture his first ATP World Tour 500 event, denying Pouille a place in the world’s top 10 for the first time in the process.
A solitary break of serve was enough to give Bautista Agut the opening set and the third seed fought back from 3-1 down in the second to secure the winner’s cheque for £410,000.
Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain celebrates winning the final match against Lucas Pouille
Bautista Agut and Pouille hold their trophies at the Dubai Duty Free Championships
‘I played very good, very aggressively,’ Bautista Agut said.
‘I didn’t give him all the court, all the control of the game. I played very good tennis tonight.
‘He took the break. But I was mentally strong. I came back playing very good tennis.’
Bautista Agut said he played ‘very good’ and ‘aggressive’ tennis in Saturday’s final in the UAE
Pouille could have broken into the top 10 for the first time in his career with a victory
Pouille agreed, saying: ‘I think he played some great tennis tonight. Even if I think I had some opportunities, especially in the second set where I got the break, 3-1 up, I couldn’t conserve it.
‘I think he was very solid, played some great tennis when he had to.’
Bautista Agut will climb to 16th in the world when the rankings are updated on Monday, with Pouille moving to a career-best 12th.