RBA keeps Spain in the Kitz frame with title

Roberto Bautista Agut revived a long-held Spanish tradition with a title on Saturday at the ATP Kitzbuehel event.

The No. 20 who once stood ninth, became the 10th Spaniard to win a title at the alpine venue since Manolo Santana began the run on foreign clay in 1969.

RBA secured the first Spanish trophy here since Marcel Granollers in 2013 as he defeated unlikely Austrian home hero Filip Misolic 6-2, 6-2.

The 94-minute finals win marked the Spaniard’s 11th career title.

  “I enjoyed the final, I think I managed the pressure very well,” the winner said.

“I knew I was a little bit the favourite today, but he had so many good wins this tournament and I knew it was going to be difficult. I played a very good match.”

The 205-ranked challenger, aged 20, came from a qualifying start and was playing his first ATP-level matches this week.

RBA broke twice in the opening set to establish superiority and carried on to win his second title of the season after Doha in February – and surprisingly, his first on clay since Stuttgart, 2014.

Eight of his 11 honours have come on cement.

“It was a very long time since I won a title on clay,” Bautista Agut said. “It’s very special for me, because I’ve done a lot of good work on this surface.”