Roberto Bautista Agut overcomes Borna Coric challenge to qualify for semifinals in Dubai

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Dubai: Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, World No. 23, on Thursday qualified for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-final for the first time in his career after defeating Borna Coric of Croatia 7-6(4), 6-4.

Bautista Agut needed only one hour and 43 minutes to mark his fourth victory in five encounters over Coric, the world No. 50, reports Efe. "(It) was not easy to beat Borna (as) he`s very solid. He was hitting very good serves and playing very aggressively... I didn`t rest all match," Bautista Agut said, according to the ATP website.

Bautista Agut is set to next square off against either Tunisian Malek Jaziri or Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.