Roberto Bautista Agut ended Andrey Rublev's Qatar Open title defence in the semifinals by upsetting the Russian 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.<br /><br />Rublev was also aiming for back-to-back titles after winning the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Sunday.<br /><br />The Russian was in the unusual position of playing a semifinal without having spent a minute on court in the singles tournament following a bye and two walkovers, though he had been playing doubles.<br /><br />Rublev served eight aces but still had his serve broken four times by Bautista Agut.<br /><br />Bautista Agut is into his second final of 2021 following a loss to David Goffin in Montpellier last month.<br /><br />His win at the Qatar Open in January 2019 remains his most recent title on the tour.<br /><br />The 13th-ranked Spanish player will face Nikoloz Basilashvili for the title in Saturday's final after the Georgian beat Taylor Fritz 7-6 (3), 6-1.<br /><br />Basilashvili is in his first final since July 2019 after a Qatar campaign which included a win over Roger Federer's in the quarterfinals.
