MADRID, Jan. 24 (SportsFinding) –
The Spanish tennis player Roberto Bautista said goodbye Friday of his career at the Australian Open, the first 'Grand Slam' of the season, after falling in the third round against Croatian Marin Cilic in five sets by 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-0, 5-7 and 6-3.
The Castellón player did not lose a game since he fell in his debut in the Davis Cup Finals against the Russian Andrey Rublev and had chained ten consecutive victories, a streak that stopped before the Balkan, finalist in Melbourne in 2018 and that He took the rematch of the last edition when he was eliminated by his opponent in the round of 16 and also in a long duel.
Both had not seen each other's faces since that game and repeated four hours of 'battle' that was decided on this occasion on the side of the Balkan, which is trying to be the one of years ago and who knew how to control well the reinforcement that supposed the comeback of Spanish in the fourth quarter.
Cilic connected 76 winners, with 24 direct serves, and was much more solid with his service, which he did not lose until the fourth set and with which he did not give options in the fifth and final sleeve to a Baptist who lacked above all to take better advantage Your break options.
The services were imposed in the first part and there were only two opportunities, one for each, the rest. The Castellón did not take advantage of it with 4-4 and the Croatian also did not take advantage of his, which was also a set ball, with 6-5 up and ended up giving up the sleeve in the 'sudden death'.
The duel continued matched in the second set, but Bautista had a promising 15-40 with 3-2 in his favor, which he could not confirm for a series of unforced errors. The one from Medjugorje, on the other hand, took a great game to his first 'break', in the ninth game and from there he totally changed the match.
The 2014 US Open champion matched the match and overwhelmed Castellón at times, who lost a total of eleven consecutive games to yield with a hard 'rosco' the third set and be already broken down in the fourth. The Croatian had the option of a second 'break', but the Spaniard saved him and a series of errors of his rival allowed him his first break of the game to recover the disadvantage.
Bautista continued to save delicate moments and again found a loophole in the powerful Croatian serve when another 'sudden death' was glimpsed and took the game to the fifth and final set. However, Cilic cut any attempt to come back with a break as soon as he started and his serve did the rest, sentencing the Spanish goodbye with a new break.