Bautista bid farewell to Madrid after a tense and epic battle against Khachanov

Roberto Bautista was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Masters 1,000 in Madrid by Russian Karen Khachanovtenth seed, who prevailed 7-5, 4-6 and 6-3 after overcoming strong resistance from his rival.

They played for almost three hours where the Spaniard tried to avoid defeat with points of immense talent and with fighting the limits of his physical strength with a small hitch in one of the breaks.

The background is unclear: Bautista has won six of eight meetings, including the last three, but Khachanov prevailed in both matches on clay. As expected, this Sunday’s game is one of continuous alternatives.

In the first set the Russian had a clear 5-2 advantage, with Bautista, who served every point, coming back to tie it at 5-5. However, he lost his next serve and gave up the sleeve.

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In the second, the man from Castellón suffered the unspeakable to save four breaking balls in the eighth game. He did, then broke Khachanov’s serve, before surviving another four break points to take the set.

The end of that part was so intense that at the beginning of the third part the tension of the encounter was somewhat reduced. Both won their respective serves without trouble until, at 4-3, Khachanov had his first break point. Bautista played the second serve, his rival took the initiative and won the point at the net.

With a blank game, and an ‘ace’ as the last pointPepo Clavet’s disciple confirmed the victory.

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Bautista, at age 35, is the oldest player left out of the draw. The 2014 semifinals remain his best result in Madrid.

The 26-year-old Russian he will see them in the round of 16 with his compatriot Andrey Rublevwho earned his pass in a more even match than the score indicated, 6-2 and 7-5, against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, a willing player who did not allow the fifth seed any mistakes.

After winning the Monte Carlo tournament and becoming a finalist in Banja Luka (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Rublev continued his good results on his tour on clay and is now one step away from matching his best performance at the Caja Mágicathe quarterfinals last year.

Fourteen winning points in the first round, to just six from the Japanese, gave Rublev the first set, with breaks for 2-1 and 4-1. In the second the break didn’t come until 6-5, as Nishioka kept his errors to a minimum.