Valencia Open 500 2015 Final: Sousa vs. Bautista Agut Score and Reaction

Joao Sousa hit back from a set down to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday to claim top prize at the Valencia Open 500 2015, triumphing over the Spaniard 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win the second ATP title of his career.

Sousa overcame a shaky start to strike back at Bautista Agut, who was visibly tiring after an hour of the final, which came at the end of an exhausting week for both finalists in Spain.

Speaking after Sunday's result, Sousa sympathised with his opponent, admitting the pressures that come with playing in front of a native audience, per Gaspar Lanca of Tenis Portugal:

Sunday's encounter was the second time the pair have faced off against one another this year after Sousa defeated Bautista Agut to reach the Umag Open final in Croatia, where he ultimately fell to Dominic Thiem.

And for the second time this year, Sousa showed resilience to revive himself from a deficit and stood out as the fitter of the two in Valencia, despite Bautista Agut's home advantage.

Sousa proved to be his own worst enemy throughout an error-ridden first set that saw him commit two double-faults to his opponent's none and win just 17 percent of return points faced, per the official ATP website.

Lanca concurred that Sousa's nerves appeared to be getting the better of him early on:

The Valencia crowd was brought to its feet by a storming opener from Castello native Bautista Agut, who took the first break of the match at 5-3 before going on to edge a flawless first set 6-3.

Bautista Agut stormed out of the blocks again to start the second set with another break before steaming into a 3-1 lead. Tennis TV showed the second serve was where the two players were really being set apart from one another:

It was at that point something seemed to click for Sousa, though, and the preceding nerves were no longer apparent, as the 26-year-old rampaged to a five-game winning streak, including back-to-back breaks.

It was now Bautista Agut who looked the less confident of the two despite such a strong beginning, and a three-set thriller in the semi-final against Steve Johnson may have started to catch up with him:

Sousa may have beaten his Sunday opponent already in 2015, but this was his first victory against Bautista Agut on a hard court, and he came to prove he was the man in form in a decisive third set.

The roles reversed, as Bautista Agut dropped serve in the third-set opener, winning just a single point to show how drastically the tables had turned.

Sousa's winning return record improved to 50 percent in the third set, as he broke the Spaniard again to near match point with a 5-2 lead, and despite slipping to surrender another break at 5-3, he eventually collected his thoughts to serve out the match.

The Valencia Open 500 2015 saw a host of top-seeded stars fall earlier in the week, and Portugal's Sousa ensured there was one more underdog victory to be seen on Sunday as the dark horse prevailed.