Tipsarevic wins 4th career ATP title by beating Bautista-Agut in Chennai Open final

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHENNAI, India — Second-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia won the Chennai Open title Sunday by beating Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final.

The ninth-ranked Tipsarevic won his fourth ATP title against an opponent who was playing in his first tour final. But it was the Spaniard who had the better start, winning the first three games en route to taking the first set. Tipsarevic, who lost to Canadian Milos Raonic in last year’s final, then dominated the second set and broke early in the third.

Bautista-Agut, who beat top-seeded Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, seemed to struggle with a leg injury and needed on-court treatment during the second set.

Tipsarevic had said after the semifinal that he was prepared for a tough final despite his opponent’s lack of experience and he was proved right as Bautista-Agut made a strong start.

The Spaniard took the early lead, wrapping up the first set as Tipsarevic’s game was marred by unforced errors.

Tipsarevic’s serve improved at the start of the second set and the Serb took a 5-0 lead en route to winning the set with ease.

In the decider, Tipsarevic kept up the pressure to go 3-1 ahead and did not let up to close out the victory.

“This is one tournament which I wanted to win badly,” Tipsarevic said. “I’m really happy today for having made it.”

Despite coming up short, Bautista-Agut said he was happy to have reached the final.

“It was an unbelievable week of tennis for me,” Bautista-Agut said. “I played a top-10 player (Berdych) for the first time and the win over him will always remain special. I had good rhythm which helped me win the first set 6-3. But some physical issues bothered me subsequently and slowed me down in the rest of the match.”

10:52ET 06-01-13