Roberto Bautista Agut reached his first grand slam semi-final by wearing down Argentine Guido Pella at Wimbledon.
The understated 31-year-old Bautista Agut dropped his first set of the tournament but 26th seed Pella’s gruelling campaign caught up with him as the No. 23 seed won 7-5 6-4 3-6 6-3.
It was the first Wimbledon quarter-final not featuring a top-20 player since a Polish duel between Jerzy Janowicz and Lukasz Kubot in 2013.
Bautista Agut is a rugged and reliable performer in grand slams and a regular visitor to the third and fourth rounds.
This year has seen a breakthrough though and he reached his first quarter-final at the Australian Open.
Now he has gone one better and will become only the sixth Spaniard to contest a Wimbledon men’s semi-final when he takes on top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Bautista Agut will not be daunted either, having twice beaten the Serb this year.
He squandered a 0-40 lead on Pella’s serve in the fifth game of the first set with a double break on offer and was then dragged into a fierce baseline fight before breaking for a 6-5 lead and then serving out the opener.
Pella had spent six hours longer on court to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final and looked weary as he dropped serve at the start of the second set — that proving enough for Bautista Agut to move to within a set of victory.
The left-handed Argentine was not finished though and hit back with some dazzling tennis to snatch the third set.
However, the business-like Bautista Agut was relentless and jumped ahead in the fourth set before claiming victory when Pella looped a forehand over the baseline.