Bautista Agut takes Auckland Classic itle over ill Sock

Bautista Agut takes Auckland Classic itle over ill Sock

AUCKLAND - Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut easily claimed the ATP Auckland Classic title on Saturday when an ailing Jack Sock was forced to withdraw early in the second set.

Roberto Bautista Agut serves to Jack Sock during their Auckland Classic match on January 16, 2016

Bautista Agut raced to a 6-1 win in the first set and broke serve to lead 1-0 in the second when Sock, who had been struggling with the flu for two days, pulled out.

The 23-year-old Sock, who had difficulty chasing any ball more than a racket-length away, received medical attention at the end of the first set.

He insisted on carrying on, but after losing his serve for the third time immediately after the resumption, the American decided his final was over.

The win for Bautista Agut, his third on the ATP tour, completed a remarkable week for the 27-year-old.

He beat defending champion Jiri Vesely in the second round and 2014 champion John Isner in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-finals he was on the brink of being eliminated when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga held match-point in the second set, before finding another gear to battle back and win in three sets.

Sock was also unwell in the semi-finals when he came from a set down to beat top seed David Ferrer and joked then that perhaps the illness was good for him.

But he had no energy in the final and the match was over in 24 minutes.

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