Valencia Open 500 2015: Saturday Tennis Scores, Results and Finals Schedule

Joao Sousa and Roberto Bautista-Agut booked their places in the final of this year's Valencia Open 500, but both players experienced contrasting semi-finals.

Sousa didn't drop a set against Canada's Vasek Pospisil. Bautista-Agut wasn't as lucky, being pushed into a third set by Steve Johnson.

After seeing off Pospisil in two sets, Sousa has now made it through to his fourth final during this calendar year.

Meanwhile, Bautista-Agut showed his grit and resolve by outlasting Johnson after a gruelling encounter in the day's second semi-final.

Here are the scores:

Event	Player	Score	Player
Men's Singles Semi-final	Joao Sousa	6-4, 6-4	Vasek Pospisil
Men's Singles Semi-final	Roberto Bautista-Agut	4-6, 6-3, 7-6(8)	Steve Johnson
Men's Doubles Semi-final	Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky (USA)	7-6(4), 7-6(3)	Chris Guccione (AUS) and Andre Sa (BRA)
Men's Doubles Semi-final	Feliciano Lopez (ESP) and Max Mirnyi (BLR)	6-1, 3-6, 10-6	Julian Knowle and Oliver Marach (AUT)

Here's the schedule for the tournament's final day:

Date	Time	Match	Player	vs.	Player
Sunday, Nov. 1	3 p.m. (GMT) / 11 a.m. (ET)	Men's Singles Final	Roberto Bautista-Agut	vs.	Joao Sousa
Sunday, Nov. 1	1 p.m. (GMT) / 9 a.m. (ET)	Men's Doubles Final	Feliciano Lopez (ESP) and Max Mirnyi (BLR)	vs.	Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky (USA)

Recap

The ATP official site noted how Sousa continued his recent dominance over Pospisil:

"

Also a finalist on the clay of Geneva and Umag and indoor hard courts of St. Petersburg in 2015, Sousa has not dropped a set in two FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters against Pospisil, having triumphed in their clash at Roland Garros in May. He needed 77 minutes to dispatch the Canadian, benefiting from 18 unforced errors while turning aside both break points faced.

"

Pospisil particularly struggled returning Sousa's serve. The same site details how the Canadian won just 14 points in the return game.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Those mistakes wasted a powerful serve that consistently gave Sousa problems. Pospisil smashed five of his eight aces in the match during the second set.

Sousa identified his quality from the baseline as the decisive factor in his win, according to an Associated Press report (h/t Sports Illustrated).

American Johnson took the first set 6-4 to leave home favourite Bautista-Agut reeling. But the support of a partisan crowd, fully behind him at Pista Central, was enough to temporarily inspire the Spaniard.

He stormed back emphatically in the second set, his efforts enough to set up a thrilling third.

One of the highlights was a stunning rally claimed by Bautista-Agut with the set tied at four games apiece. At this point, Johnson seemed really rattled, but a booming second-serve ace to even the score at 30 all put those doubts to rest. Another ace followed to help Johnson take the game and move a step closer to the final.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

But Bautista-Agut wouldn't let up. He took the next game then set himself up with two break points to go 6-5 ahead. Sadly, he wasted both, and it was Johnson who went a game in front and onto the brink of the final.

Winning a lengthy rally gave him the chance to take match point, but Bautista-Agut again denied him. The Spaniard produced an even bigger Houdini act when he evened things at six games each after surviving three more match points.

Up 8-7 in the tiebreak, Johnson had another match point on his serve, but a smashed forehand kept Bautista-Agut alive. After saving six match points, Bautista-Agut took his own to go through to the final—much to the delight of the Valencia crowd.

Johnson's big hitting, evidenced by 13 aces, per the ATP official site, ultimately counted for naught. The experienced Bautista-Agut was relatively mistake-free. He didn't register a single double fault.

The support of the fans at Pista Central will be key in the all-Iberian final. Sousa has the form of a favourite, but fortune appears to be on Bautista-Agut's side.