Roberto Bautista showed this Thursday that the good feelings that he showed in the ATP Cup a few days ago have been maintained in this Australian Open. The man from Castellón went to the third round of the tournament for the sixth time with one of his most overwhelming victories in Grand Slams. He lost only four games against Philipp Kohlschreiber (6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in 88 minutes), equaling his biggest drubbing in the category., which he had achieved in this same tournament, in the 2014 edition, against the American Tim Smiczek (6-2, 6-1 and 6-1). On Saturday he will face another North American player, Taylor Fritz, who got rid of his compatriot Frances Tiafoe (6-4, 6-3 and 7-6 (5)). The face to face has it very much in their favor (5-1).
Roberto did not have it with the veteran Kohlschreiber, a 38-year-old German and currently the 134th in the world, who had beaten him three times in five matches, although it is true that they had not coincided since 2018. And time has treated the Spaniard better, who played one of those solid games that have made him a very hard nut to crack for his rivals. Bautista barely accumulated nine unforced errors, while his opponent added 44, desperate before the wall that is the Navy tennis player.
“I feel very good, the conditions today were better than the first day, especially to play against someone like Phillip. I put a lot of pressure on the rest, with a lot of intensity, shooting a lot and defending well. I was able to win in three sets and finished very well with energy”, said Bautista, before assessing his next rival, Frtiz, as a “player with very hard shots and a very good serve, very complicated that has been winning many games since the end of last season”.
Australian Open Men’s Draw.
