At the Net: Bautista Agut continues to make strides

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Spain has cranked out its share of tennis stars over the years, most notably the great Rafael Nadal, so it should come as no surprise that the proud nation has yet another one on the rise in Roberto Bautista Agut.

The late-blooming 26-year-old has quietly climbed his way up the rankings, as he currently rests at No. 15 in the world after opening 2014 at No. 64. He was a career-high 14th in the world just last week.

Bautista Agut achieved a few milestones last year by recording his first Top-10 win, reaching his first-ever ATP final (Chennai, India) and breaking into the Top 50, as those accomplishments provided just a glimpse of the success that was to come for him this season.

RBA got everyone's attention at this year's Australian Open, where he made it all the way to the round of 16 before losing to fellow young star Grigor Dimitrov. His big victory in Melbourne came when he came from behind to outlast then world No. 5/former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in five sets in the second round, a victory that would springboard the Castellon de la Plana native to his best season to date.

Another Top-5 victory came in March when he tackled then No. 5/former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych in the second round at the Indian Wells Masters event. He also beat a then world No. 6 Berdych in India last season.

The capable Spaniard has established himself as a contender on all surfaces. He captured his maiden ATP title on grass in Den Bosch, The Netherlands, back in June, triumphed on his transition to red clay just a few weeks later in Stuttgart, and reached an indoor hardcourt final in Moscow earlier this month (October) before losing to U.S. Open champ Marin Cilic.

At 6-feet tall and 168 pounds, Bautista Agut is certainly not an imposing figure, but he's learned his way around the court where he's always looking to unleash one of his high-quality forehands.

He also put in a great showing by advancing to the semifinals at the Madrid Masters, where he was stopped only by his amazing fellow countryman Nadal on home soil, and landed in the fourth round at the U.S. Open, where his luck ultimately ran out when he encountered the great Roger Federer.

"Bati" finished the year with an impressive 45 match wins -- 19 more than his previous career-high -- and climbed 50 spots from his '13 year-end finish after reaching at least the semifinals at five tournaments.

Needless to say, he's been nominated for at ATP's Most Improved Player of the Year award.

"It's an honor to be nominated for the Most Improved Player of the Year," Bautista Agut said. "It's been my best year. I've been playing well all season. I've been playing well on all surfaces and I'm looking forward to keeping the same work at the same level for the next years."

On the stats front, Bautista Agut ranked inside the top 10 this year in the all-important points won returning 2nd serve (9th), break points converted (6th) and 1st serve percentage (3rd), and ranked 11th in both return games won and points won returning 1st serve.

He currently gives Spain four of the Top-15 players in the world, joining the No. 3 former top-ranked Nadal, No. 6 David Ferrer and No. 14 Feliciano Lopez. And keep your eye on another Spanish riser, 23-year-old world No. 50 Pablo Carreno Busta, who looks like a Top-20 guy to me.

I don't think Bati's a Top-5 type, but a trip into the Top 10 looks like a possibility.