It is never easy to play in the main draw of a grand slam, but even more so for Spanish 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
The 30-year-old comes into the French Open mourning the recent death of his mother. Ester Agut, who managed a clothing store in Castellón, passed away last week. At a time of sadness, Bautista Agut continues to fight on the tour. Illustrated yesterday by his 6-2, 6-7(3), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, win over Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin. It is the sixth consecutive year where the Spaniard has managed to win his opening match at Roland Garros.
“That was a very emotional match, especially with everything that’s happened in the past week,” he said following his win on Monday. “It was an encounter filled with highs and lows … it isn’t easy to keep your mind on the court when you’ve got all these thoughts and feelings inside your head.”
Trying to process the sudden death of his mother, Bautista Agut is determined to keep on battling on the tour. So far this season, he has already won two ATP titles in Auckland and Dubai. At the French Open he is bidding to progress to the quarter-finals for the first time in his career after reaching the last 16 of the tournament the past two years.
“The past few days have been difficult and it isn’t easy to get through circumstances like the one I’m in right now,” Bautista Agut said. “I believed the best thing to do would be to come (to Roland Garros) and move forward, not stay at home or hide from it all but rather keep fighting, just as I did here today.”
In the second round Bautista Agut will take on Santiago Giraldo. Who moved into the second round after his opponent, Marcos Baghdatis, retired injured. He has a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Colombian, winning all three of their previous meetings on the tour in straight sets.
