During a crucial moment, a few costly groundstroke errors while attempting to force a tiebreak in the first set proved to be fatal for Bautista Agut, allowing him to break and take the set 7-5.
In the second set, the Spaniard regained his form, losing only six points on serve and breaking Lehecka twice. He then finished the match easily with a score of 7-5 6-1.
Entering the event, Bautista Agut had not won a title in 27 months, making it seem unlikely that the streak would end anytime soon. However, the European Open turned out to be the special week he needed, as he won his first title since Kitzbuhel in 2022, and his first indoor title since Sofia in 2016.
Ranked No. 60, Bautista Agut defeated French qualifier Luca Van Assche (6-2, 6-1), Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the No. 6 seed (7-6 (2), 6-4), Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 3 seed (3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6)), and Frenchman Hugo Gaston (6-3, 6-4) in the earlier rounds of the Antwerp Open.
In earlier matches in the tournament, Lehecka, ranked No. 33, defeated Spaniard Jaume Munar (6-1, 6-4), German Daniel Altmaier (6-4, 6-3), Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the second seed (6-4, 6-4), and American Marcos Giron, the No. 8 seed (6-3, 4-6, 6-2).
