Roberto Bautista Agut beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open to claim his first title since 2019, when he won the trophy in the Qatari capital.
This year’s Doha final was a repeat of the 2021 final. Bautista Agut avenged his last year’s defeat against Basilashvili, who clinched the 2021 title.
Bautista Agut came back from a break down in the first and second sets to clinch the title in 86 minutes.
Basilashvili earned the first break in the third game at love to take a 2-1 lead. Bautista Agut broke back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Bautista Agut won the final three games with a break in the eighth game to close out the first set 6-3.
The second set followed the same pattern. Basilashvili earned a break in the second game to take a 3-0 lead. Bautista Agut converted his third break point to draw level to 3-3. Bautista Agut earned the second break in the ninth game to take a 5-4 and served out to claim the second set 6-4.
Basilashvili beat Mikael Ymer, Marton Fucsovics and Arthur Rinderknech en route to the final.
“I am super happy with how I played this tournament. I love coming back here. I would like to congratulate Roberto for a great tournament”, said Basilashviili
“I am very happy. It has been a while since I lifted a trophy. I have been working very hard to reach another final and to get the chance to win another title. It was a big title for me to win a title and I have now twice in Doha. It is very special for me and I am very happy”, said Bautista Agut.