Tennis: Unheralded Italian Berrettini stuns Spanish 2nd seed Bautista Agut for maiden career title in Gstaad

Italy's Matteo Berrettini holds the trophy as he celebrates his victory at the end of the Swiss Open ATP 250 tennis tournament final match against Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut, on July 29, 2018 in Gstaad. PHOTO: AFP

(REUTERS) - Italy's Matteo Berrettini overcame second seed Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(9) 6-4 to win his first tennis title at the Swiss Open in Gstaad on Sunday (July 29).

World No. 17 Bautista Agut, who was playing in his first event since he suffered a hip injury in Halle, gave everything to stay in contention after fending off five break points but failed to match his opponent's powerful ground strokes.

The 22-year-old Berrettini snatched the opening set tie-break 11-9, before converting a break point in the 10th game of the second to wrap up the victory.

"From the beginning until the end it was really tough to break him," Berrettini said. "I served really good most of the days and it was an unbelievable tiebreak.

"If I lost the tie-break, I think the match would have been really tough. I was lucky I did a really good job."

Playing in his first tour level final, Berrettini produced a fearless display, firing 17 aces and losing 12 points on serve in total.

He finished the tournament without dropping a set, ousting 2016 champion Feliciano Lopez and fourth seed Andrey Rublev on his way to lifting the title.

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