Roberto Bautista Agut fought back from one set down to beat Karen Khachanov 2-6 6-3 7-5 in 2 hours and 26 minutes reaching the final at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open in Doha for the second consecutive year.
Khachanov earned two breaks in the third and seventh games to seal the first set 6-2.
Bautista Agut saved seven break points in the third game of the second set to hold serve. The Spanish player broke serve with a powerful smash to take a 6-5 lead, before holding to close out the match.
Bautista Agut has extended his lead to 6-2 in his eight head-to-head matches against Khachanov.
The 33-year-old Spaniard beat Andy Murray 6-0 6-1 and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-1 in his first two matches.
Bautista Agut won the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open in 2019 and reached the final last season. He will be chasing his first title since he clinched the title in Doha.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable. I want to give a lot of credit to Karen, he was playing unbelievably. I had to fight really hard to turn the score around. It was a really tough match”, said Bautista Agut.
Nikoloz Basilashvili reached the Doha final for the second consecutive year with a 6-4 6-2 win over Arthur Rinderknech with three breaks of serve. The Georgian player beat Roger Federer in last year’s edition en route to the final.
“I am feeling great. I see the ball really well here and physically I feel much better than previous matches. The final will be a tough match”, said Basilashvili.
