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Reaching 400 wins in singles on the ATP Tour is a feat that is only ever pulled off by the most consistent and determined of players. The two virtues are so difficult to bring together that only thirteen active players can lay claim to the achievement. The latest to do so is Roberto Bautista Agut, thanks to his win on Wednesday against Andrea Vavassori at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
“To me it’s just a number. The important thing is that I’ve done great work over these years, that I’ve had a very consistent career, a career that I can feel proud of,” said the 35-year-old Spaniard in a chat with ATPTour.com. “Now, fortunately, I can keep enjoying my tennis.”
The 400 club now includes Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Marin Cilic, Stan Wawrinka, Fernando Verdasco, Gael Monfils, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, Fabio Fognini, Alexander Zverev and Bautista Agut.
Roberto Bautista Agut in action en route to his 400th career win Wednesday in Barcelona. Photo Credit: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Just as he is now the 13th active player with at least 400 ATP Tour wins to his name, Bautista Agut has also become the 13th Spaniard in the Open Era to reach the 400 mark. He opened his account in 2012, shortly after his 24th birthday.
“My first victory was in Miami against Andreas Seppi, having come through qualies. I was so happy,” said the Valencian. “That’s why Miami is still an important tournament on my schedule, I have great memories, it gives me energy and the conditions suit my game.”
His first match win on the ATP Tour may have taken some time to arrive, but the legacy he has built since then is one the upcoming generations would do well to replicate.
On the basis of constant hard work in the background, he picked up some stunning results that have helped him win eleven ATP Tour titles, break into the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings in 2019, and perform on the biggest stages — Bautista Agut has earned 74 wins at Grand Slams and 92 at ATP Masters 1000 events.
With a glance at his career, the thing that stands out is the quality of his victories; 20 have come against members of the Top 10, 10 when playing members of the Top 5, and four against World No. 1s. Only nine players have ever beaten Novak Djokovic as World No. 1 more than twice, and Bautista Agut is one of them. He is the only player on that list never to have been a member of the Top 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
“I think I played the best tennis of my life in Doha, in the semi-finals against Djokovic,” remembers the Spaniard, who claimed his other Lexus ATP Head2Head victories against the Serbian in Shanghai in 2016 and Miami in 2019. “Equally, every win against Djokovic was very special.”
But Bautista has also produced other wins he will never forget. “Luckily, I’ve played a lot of matches and many wins come to mind. The first against a Top 10 player, which was Tomas Berdych in Chennai in 2012; wins against [Daniil] Medvedev and [Juan Martin] del Potro.”
That win against the Argentinian Del Potro, 10 years ago at the Australian Open, holds a special place in his heart. Not only because he was the World No. 62 and was playing against the No. 5, but also because he was feeling ill that day. Causing an upset as he did in the second round of the event seemed unthinkable.
“With ‘DelPo’ in Australia, it was special. I had a stomach ache and it was over 40 degrees Celsius that day. I really don’t know how I did it, but I ended up winning,” he explains with a smile. Such was the confidence he took from that win, that he would claim his first two titles later that year (‘s-Hertogenbosch and Stuttgart) and end the season as the World No. 15.
Ten years after the season that catapulted him into the tennis elite, Bautista Agut is still fighting to stay there. He was unfazed by a twisted ankle that kept him off court for three months at the end of last season and his age does not seem to be holding him back either.
“The injury kept me off the tour for a few months and now I seem to be feeling good again,” explained one of the 10 oldest players currently in the Top 100. “Let’s hope I can continue to enjoy playing at a good level.”
Editor's note: This story has been translated from ATPTour.com/es.
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