There’s more to Roberto Bautista than just a title | Tennis | Sport

At 36 years old, Roberto Bautista is celebrating as if it were his first day. Among other things, because he knows full well what it took for him to get here and the circumstances he found himself in just over a year ago when he broke his fibula while enjoying horses and fell into a spiral of pain and difficulty. fell from top 100. “This is a special victory. A year ago I broke my leg and I had to fight a lot and play a lot. quality (qualification processes) during these months; Despite this, I always went to training with a smile,” he says after winning in Antwerp (7-5 ​​and 6-1 against Jiri Lehecky in the final) and thus winning the twelfth title of his career. that he is equal to the record of Tommy Robredo and Albert Costa, now overtaking Nicolás Almagro (13) in the list of the most successful Spaniards.

Bautista is not one to lean easily, so the moment he crashed he began to focus on the return journey with no shortage of skeptical voices waiting to begin a descent that was confirmed to have failed. Perhaps that would be logical, given the severity of the injury and his age, the fact that he had no shortage of good food in his stomach – the 2019 Davis Cup champion, a significant number of trophies and semi-final signings. at Wimbledon five years ago – and that today he enjoys the incentive of fatherhood outside the courts. But that’s not true. “Getting up every day to go to training and continue to gain knowledge to continue to improve is like poison,” he admitted to this newspaper in July. And the facts confirm this.

Having won the laurels in Belgium, the native of Castellon returns to a space much more appropriate to his level – 45th place when he was 122nd – and continues to confirm that he is one of the best national athletes of the last decade, demonstrating solubility across three surfaces. He hasn’t won since 2022 at Kitzbühel, and injuries have seen him lose his range and competitive spark rather than his inner fire. A lover of his profession and meticulous in his preparation, he has made an ascent to regain lost ground and is now Spain’s third best representative after Carlos Alcaraz (2nd place) and Pedro Martinez (39th place). However, the promotion doesn’t stop there. “I deserve a week like this. Hard work and perseverance always pays off,” he wrote on Sunday.

Ten years ago he won his first elite prize and has since served as a model and respected tennis player, following in the footsteps of Andy Murray. Your mirror. “He was my role model, a player I identified with in many ways,” he says. As a Scot, it will not be easy for him to give in or give up, and now, as the final phase of the Davis Cup, from November 19 to 24, approaches little by little, his game takes on a shine and his name poses a real dilemma for the captain. David Ferrer will have to choose, or rather, Bautista will submit to the decision of Rafael Nadal. The second individual shift will be subject to the will of Mallorca, but even there the native of Castellón will be ready and always ready to work. Indispensable in planning.

Bautista signed two important points in September’s group stage in Valencia – against the Czech Republic and France – and stood for resolution next month. “One of my goals after the injury was to return to the Davis team,” he notes. Meanwhile, the coach will be waiting to hear the latest from Nadal, knowing he has a top-class junior in the bedroom who is now the oldest player to win this season – barring Djokovic’s Olympic break (37) – and he is the second oldest Spaniard to achieve success. win the ATP trophy behind Feliciano Lopez, who won the Queen’s in 2019 when he was 37 years old. “I’m very proud of myself. I worked hard, I did a lot of things well,” he says, always there: no, Bautista does not give up.