Joao Sousa made a remarkable comeback to upset hometown favourite Roberto Bautista in the Valencia Open final and claim his second career ATP Tour title.
The Portuguese player, who lives and trains in Barcelona since 2004, seamingly had his back against the wall at 3-6, 1-3 down but found a way to turn the tide and prevent Bautista from enjoying the sweet taste of winning his home tournament by taking the clash 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In fact, nerves crept into Sousa’s game when he served for the match at 5-2 and he gifted Bautista a lifeline which, as Stevee Johnson knows all too well, he doesn’t hesitate to accept normally. This time though Sousa managed to hold his cool at the second time of asking and served a perfect game to love to clinch his first title of the season and second career trophy after Kuala Lumpur two years ago.
Sousa, who became the first Portuguese player ever to win an ATP title two years ago, continues to rewrite his country’s tennis history books as he will surge to a career high ranking of 33 next week. As for Bautista, the Spaniard will have to recover from two consecutive final defeats in the season-ending Masters 1000 event in Paris next week.
