Roberto Bautista Agut was crowned the winner of Qatar’s grand ATP tennis Tournament after beating third-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili in a fierce match on Saturday to win the Qatar ExxonMobil Open title.
It is the 10th career title for Spain’s Bautista Agut and his second triumph in Doha, previously winning in 2019. This is his first success since then, ending a three-year drought on the ATP circuit.
The World No. 16, who dropped just one set en route to the title, has now won 10 tour-level crowns, holding a 10-9 record in championship matches. Doha is the second ATP Tour tournament where the Spaniard holds multiple titles, after lifting the trophy in Auckland in 2016 and 2018.
The 33 year-old had played aggressively from the baseline, and gained revenge over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, who triumphed in the final of last year’s championship match in Doha.
Basilashvili had eight aces in this year’s final while Bautista Agut had none. The Georgian committed three double faults.
“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,” said Bautista Agut. “It was a big dream for me to win a title and I have now won twice in Doha. It is very special for me.”
The Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani also attended the final.
Qatar Open
The 2022 Qatar Open, also known as 2022 Qatar ExxonMobil Open for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th edition of the league, with a whopping $1,176,595 million prize.
The men’s tournament took place from Feb 12th to Feb 19th, at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour, with the first ATP Qatar Open for men taking place in January, 1993.
The Qatar Open was selected by players as the ATP 250 Tournament of the Year in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Israeli player Jonathan Erlich
The Qatari Youth Opposed to Normalisation (QAYON) called out the organisers of the tournament for hosting Israeli tennis player Jonathan Erlich.
This is not the first time Erlich was in Qatar, as he has previously competed in the Qatar Open in 2016.
ATP World Tour 250 Series
The ATP 250 tournaments are the lowest tier of annual men’s tennis tournaments on the main ATP Tour, after the four Grand Slam tournaments, ATP Finals, ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and ATP 500 tournaments.
As of 2022, the series consists of 64 tennis tournaments in 31 countries, two of which are held in the Middle East, including Qatar. Two hundred and fifty ranking points are awarded to each singles champion, which accounts for the name of the series.
WTA Qatar Open
The Women’s Tennis Association governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. The Qatar Open starts today, and will be running up until Feb. 26, and will be the first 1000 tournament of the 2022 season. It features a 56-player singles draw and 28-team doubles draw.
The Top 8 seeds will receive a bye into the second round. The champion’s prize money stands at $380,000.
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