The love of his wife—and focusing on tennis—have helped Roberto Bautista Agut cope with the tragic loss of both of his parents in recent years.
The 2018 Dubai champion returns to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with his opening match vs. Jan-Lennard Struff today.
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The 2019 season marked the best of times and worst of times for Bautista Agut, whose father and biggest fan, Joaquin, passed away during Davis Cup finals week last November. Bautista Agut's mother, Ester, died in May 2018.
After leaving the Spanish squad to attend his father's funeral, Bautista Agut returned to action days later defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(3), 6-3 to help lift Spain to a victory over Canada in the Davis Cup final in Madrid.
It was Bautista Agut's first taste of the Davis Cup and came while he was grieving the loss of both parents.
“What I can say is what I have passed has been very difficult for me," Bautista Agut told The Gulf News' Alaric Gomes. "I won’t say anything in particular to another person or another player having the same situation. I cannot say anything. Everyone has to think on what he’s doing.
"In my case, the tennis helped me a lot to escape everything at home, while trying to keep my mind on my job. The travel also was good for me and for my mind. As I worked a lot during all my life to be where I am, I didn’t want to stop the development, to stop my tennis career. I think that’s why I have kept fighting hard.”
Weeks after his father's passing, Bautista Agut married his teenage sweetheart, Ava, on November 30th.
The wedding came months after Bautista Agut played what he called the best tournament of his life charging into the Wimbledon semifinals and forcing his bachelor's party from Ibiza to London.
Bautista Agut said his wife's love has helped him endure family loss.
“I am married to a great girl. She’s helping me a lot," Bautista Agut said. "She did also help a lot in the past. We are good together. We try to help each other in our lives.”
Photo credit: Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships