Marcos Baghdatis
![]() | |
Country (sports) | ![]() |
---|---|
Residence | Limassol, Cyprus |
Born | Paramytha, Limassol District, Cyprus | 17 June 1985
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Turned pro | 2003 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Prize money | $5,612,724 |
Singles | |
Career record | 252–179 |
Career titles | 4 |
Highest ranking | No. 8 (21 August 2006) |
Current ranking | No. 82 (11 August 2014) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | F (2006) |
French Open | 4R (2007) |
Wimbledon | SF (2006) |
US Open | 3R (2013) |
Other tournaments | |
Olympic Games | 3R (2012) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 45–42 |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 93 (January 7, 2008) |
Current ranking | No. 118 (July 21, 2013) |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | 3R (2013) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2007) |
Last updated on: August 28, 2013. |
Marcos Baghdatis (Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, [ˈmarkos paɣðaˈtis]; Arabic: ماركوس بغداتيس; born 17 June 1985 in Limassol) is a Cypriot professional tennis player.[1] He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships and reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 8 in August 2006.[2]
Personal life
Marcos was born in his native Limassol, Cyprus to a Lebanese father, Christos and a Greek Cypriot mother, Andoula. He has 2 brothers, Petros and Marinos and 1 sister, Zena, who was adopted by his family at just 6 months old. His father, a native Lebanese who follows the Greek Orthodox Christianity emigrated to Cyprus from Lebanon and owns a clothes shop. He began playing tennis at the age of five with his father and brothers. He enjoys playing and watching football and is a supporter of Apollon Limassol in Cyprus. He trained at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris on an Olympic Solidarity Youth Development Programme Scholarship since the age of 13 and learned to speak French.
He received the 2005 Cyprus Male Athlete of the Year award. On 28 January 2006, Baghdatis received an exemption from the otherwise mandatory Cypriot national service so that he could concentrate on tennis.
On 14 July 2012, Baghdatis married the Croatian former tennis player Karolina Šprem. They had their first child, a daughter Zahara, on 20 October 2012.[3]
Marcos is fluent in Greek, English and French.
Tennis career
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (February 2011) |
Juniors
Baghdatis reached No. 1 in the ITF junior world singles rankings in 2003 and joined the ATP professional tour later that year.
Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Junior Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||
Australian Open | 2R | 2R | W | ||||||
French Open | 1R | 1R | QF | ||||||
Wimbledon | 2R | 2R | A | ||||||
US Open | 1R | F | F |
2004 - Wins first Grand Slam match
Baghdatis performed moderately throughout most of 2004. He picked up his form later in that year.
At the US Open, Baghdatis played for the first time in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. He defeated Olivier Mutis in a first-round match 2–6, 6–2, 6–1, 7–5. He was one of only two players who won a set from eventual champion Roger Federer (the other being Andre Agassi). Baghdatis then finished the year with two Challenger tournament titles, in which he defeated many higher-ranked opponents.
2005 - Glimpses of a young star in the making
Baghdatis's 2005 season began with a first-round loss in the Chennai Open.
In his next tournament, the Australian Open, as a qualifier, Baghdatis defeated then-top-20 player Ivan Ljubičić in the second round and had a straight sets victory over another top-20 player, Tommy Robredo, in the third round, before losing to Roger Federer in the fourth round.
Baghdatis suffered an elbow injury right after the Australian Open and was out of the professional tour until late April, when he entered a clay court tournament, the Estoril Open in Portugal. He held two match points in his first-round match against a resurging Juan Carlos Ferrero, but failed to convert them into a win.
Baghdatis kept playing Challengers and qualifying for upper-tier ATP events for the rest of 2005 and found good form towards the end of the year. As a qualifier, he reached the final of the ATP tournament at Basel, defeating former world no. 2 Tommy Haas, world no. 40 José Acasuso, and the eventual 2005 Masters Cup champion David Nalbandian. But he lost the final to Fernando González 7–6, 4–6, 5–7, 4–6. Although he was not the first qualifier to reach an ATP tour event final, he was the first player from Cyprus to do so. [citation needed]
2006 - Making of a superstar
Baghdatis entered the Australian Open as an unseeded player, under the coaching of Guillaume Peyre, and produced an unexpected four-set 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 victory over second-seed and world No. 3 Andy Roddick in the fourth round. He then defeated the seventh seed Ivan Ljubičić in the quarterfinals 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 3–6, 6–3. In the semifinals, he came back from two sets down to defeat fourth seed David Nalbandian 3–6, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4. The vocal support he enjoyed from his local fans (consisting mostly of members of Melbourne's large Greek Australian community) throughout the tournament was considered one of the highlights of the tournament. In the final, Baghdatis started strongly (being a set and a break up with a chance to double break), but eventually lost to world no. 1 Roger Federer 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2. [citation needed]
"I think my coach will watch and I'll be sleeping with my girlfriend.
Marcos Baghdatis answering an interviewer's question if he would be watching his next opponent in the 2006 Australian Open.[4]
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Julien Benneteau.
At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. Baghdatis then lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in 3 sets.
At the US Open, Baghdatis defeated Alexander Waske of Germany in the first round. He played retiring U.S. player Andre Agassi in the second round, and in a long match that lasted past midnight, Baghdatis lost 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 5–7. This was to be the final victory of Agassi's twenty-year professional career, as he lost to Benjamin Becker in the following round.
At the China Open, an ATP International Series event, Baghdatis defeated Mario Ančić in the final 6–4, 6–0, for his first career ATP tournament championship.
2007 - Shows 2006 is no 'fluke'
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Marcos_Baghdatis2007USOPEN.jpg/300px-Marcos_Baghdatis2007USOPEN.jpg)
Baghdatis was the eleventh seed at the Australian Open but could not match his success from the previous year, losing a second-round match to Gaël Monfils 6–7, 2–6, 6–2, 0–6.
He won his next tournament in Zagreb, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final 7–6, 4–6, 6–4. At the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France, Baghdatis advanced to his second consecutive singles final and the fifth of his career, where he lost to Gilles Simon in two sets.
At the French Open, Baghdatis defeated Sébastien Grosjean in the first round 6–3, 6–2, 6–4. He then beat Kristian Pless to advance to the third round. There, he defeated Jan Hájek. In the fourth round, Baghdatis lost to Igor Andreev in four sets.
At the first grass-court tournament of the season in Halle, Baghdatis reached his sixth career singles final by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber in the semifinals 7–6, 6–4. In the final, which took place on his birthday, he lost to Tomáš Berdych.
At Wimbledon, as the tenth seed, he made it to the quarterfinals for the second straight year, defeating Ernests Gulbis, Nicolas Devilder, David Nalbandian, and sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko, before losing to Novak Djokovic in a five-hour match. At the next Grand Slam, the 2007 US Open, Baghdatis was defeated by no. 106 ranked Max Mirnyi in the first round.
At the 2007 Paris Masters, Baghdatis found good form. He reached the semifinals by defeating Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Robredo. He then lost to second seed Rafael Nadal in three sets.
2008 - Some good results, but injury ends season early
Baghdatis started his season on the 2008 ATP Tour at the 2008 Chennai Open in India, where he lost to Robin Haase in the first round.[5]
At the 2008 Australian Open, Baghdatis defeated 2002 champion Thomas Johansson and 2005 champion Marat Safin, before losing in the third round to 2005 runner-up Lleyton Hewitt, in five sets. This match lasted 282 minutes, beginning at 11:52 pm and finishing at 4:34 am.[6]
At the 2008 Roland Garros, he lost in the first round to Simone Bolelli in three sets.
At the 2008 Halle Open in Germany, where he was the runner up in 2007, he lost to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.
At the 2008 Wimbledon championships, seeded tenth, Baghdatis progressed to the fourth round, where he faced Feliciano López.He lost in 5 sets.
Baghdatis suffered injuries for the remainder of the season. Thus, he did not participate in the 2008 US Open.
2009 - Injuries but fighting spirit alive
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Baghdatis_2009_Delray_1.jpg/220px-Baghdatis_2009_Delray_1.jpg)
Entering 2009, ranked no. 96 (his best having been 8) and having not played since the ATP Paris Masters in late October 2008, Baghdatis entered the 2009 Brisbane International in preparation for the Australian Open, losing in the opening round to Jarkko Nieminen.
In the Australian Open, traditionally his best grand slam event, he began with a straight-sets win over 48th-ranked Frenchman Julien Benneteau and followed that up by ousting 16th-seed Robin Söderling in four sets and 23rd-seed Mardy Fish in straight sets to set up a fourth-round clash with third-seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic. The fourth round encounter with Djokovic started poorly for Baghdatis, going down 1–6 in the first set. The second set went into a tie-breaker, which Baghdatis lost 1–7. The third set went into another tie-breaker, but Baghdatis earned three set points, lost two of them on his own serve, and then took the tie-breaker on Djokovic's serve. After 3 hours and nearly 20 minutes, Baghdatis was unable to come back from an early break in the first game of the last set, as he missed two break opportunities and lost 1–6, 6–7, 7–6, 2–6.
After the Australian Open, he played in the SA Tennis Open tournament in Johannesburg and was the eighth seed. He defeated Andrew Anderson 6–4, 6–2, in the first round and wildcard Raven Klaasen 6–3, 7–5, in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he lost to David Ferrer 5–7, 2–6.
After getting a wildcard for San Jose, he drew sixth seeded American Sam Querrey in the first round, and lost in three tight sets 3–6, 7–5, 6–7.
At the 2009 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, Baghdatis defeated Ernests Gulbis 7–5, 6–2, in the first round and Dudi Sela 7–6, 6–3, in the second. He was defeated by Jérémy Chardy in the quarterfinals 6–7, 6–7.
Baghdatis found some form at the Ordina Open, 's-Hertogenbosch 250 tournament, beating 15th-ranked Tommy Robredo 7–5, 6–2, to move into the second round. In the second round, he suffered a match-ending knee injury when playing Raemon Sluiter.
Due to the knee injury suffered at 's-Hertogenbosch, he withdrew from the Wimbledon Championships.[7]
Baghdatis returned to the ATP tour with a three-set loss to Wayne Odesnik in Indianapolis. In Los Angeles, he progressed to the second round after beating Frank Dancevic 7–6, 6–3, but was unable to maintain his form and was upset by John Isner in straight sets 3–6, 6–7, after holding a set point in the second set.
Baghdatis won the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, a Challenger event in Vancouver over Xavier Malisse in the final 6–4, 6–4. The title is Marcos’ first at any level since triumphing at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament in Zagreb in February 2007.
Baghdatis failed to qualify for the Cincinnati Masters, losing to Robert Kendrick in the opening qualifying round.
Marcos won his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the season, after defeating Xavier Malisse again 6–4, 6–1, in the final of the Trophée des Alpilles in St. Remy. He won his opening match in the ATP 250 tournament in Kuala Lumpur, against Lu Yen-hsun 4–6, 6–3, 7–6, but was beaten by Mikhail Youzhny 2–6, 3–6, in the next round.
In the China Open, an ATP 500 tournament held in Beijing, he drew top seeded Rafael Nadal in the first round. He pushed him hard, but was eventually defeated 4–6 6–3 4–6. It was Nadal's sixth straight win over the Cypriot.
At the 2009 If Stockholm Open, Baghdatis reached his first ATP final since 2007 at Halle. In the opening round, he upset third seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets 6–4, 6–2. He followed this up with crushing victories over Robert Kendrick 6–2, 6–2, and Arnaud Clément 6–4, 6–4. Top-seed Robin Söderling gave Marcos a walkover into the final. Baghdatis beat Rochus in the final 6–1, 7–5, to win just his third ATP title, which ended his two and a half year title drought.
2010 - Some of his best tennis to date
During the 2010 season, Baghdatis was the only player to beat both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal while they were world no. 1.
This season saw Baghdatis return to form. He started off the year at the Brisbane International, one of the first ATP 250 tournaments of the season. In the first round, he beat American Mardy Fish 7–5, 7–5, but he was soundly defeated in his second-round clash against hard-hitting Czech Tomáš Berdych 0–6, 1–6.
He then entered the next Australian Open series tournament, the Medibank International ATP tournament in Sydney. In his opening round, he looked rusty, but managed to beat Australian wildcard Nick Lindahl 6–2, 7–5. In the second round, he beat sixth seed Viktor Troicki 7–5, 6–3. He then stunned the fourth seed Lleyton Hewitt, rallying from a set and a break down in the second set (at 4–6, 1–2) to win 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, in the quarterfinals. Then he defeated Mardy Fish in another heart-stopping three-set win 6–4, 6–7, 7–6, in the semifinals. In the final, he faced Richard Gasquet. After epic drama with a rain delay (at the start of the second set) to add suspense, Baghdatis went on to triumph 6–4, 7–6. The win elevated his ATP ranking to no. 31.
At the 2010 Australian Open, Baghdatis beat Italian Paolo Lorenzi in the opening round 6–2, 6–4, 6–4, and defeated 17th seed David Ferrer in the second 4–6, 3–6, 7–6, 6–3, 6–1. This marked his second career victory after being down two sets to none, while suffering from leg cramping in the final game. He faced Lleyton Hewitt in the third round, a rematch of the same tournament and round exactly two years before. This time, however, a right shoulder injury forced Baghdatis to retire just 56 minutes into the match after trailing 0–6, 2–4.[8][9] After this, his ranking dipped slightly to No. 34 (on January 1). After deciding not to defend his quarterfinal points at the 2010 SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, his ranking dropped 2 places to no. 36 (on January 8).
His next appearance was at the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. There, he beat James Blake in a comfortable 6–4, 6–2 victory in the first round. However, he was beaten by in-form Nikolay Davydenko in the second round 3–6, 2–6.
He made a second-round appearance at the 2010 Open 13 tournament in Marseille, losing to eventual champion Michaël Llodra 6–7 4–6.
He then appeared at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, but came into the tournament with stomach cramps (due to food poisoning). Despite the handicap, he courageously beat Frenchmen no. 8 seed Gilles Simon 7–6, 6–4, in the opening round. After a day of rest, he gained a 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 victory over Somdev Devvarman in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated German Michael Berrer in straight sets 7–6, 6–1 (allowing no break point chances). In the semifinals, after being a set and a break up, he lost a frustrating match against no. 2 seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic 7–6, 3–6, 4–6.
He played at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, as the 27th seed. After receiving a bye in the first round, he beat Arnaud Clément 7–6, 6–1, in the second round. In the third round, he went on to capture his biggest win to date, stunning world no. 1 and top seed Roger Federer 5–7, 7–5, 7–6, while saving three match points. By beating Federer for the first time in his career, he reversed a six-match losing streak. However, in the fourth round, he was unable to recuperate in time for his next match, losing to Tommy Robredo 5–7, 6–0, 4–6, despite coming into the match with a 3–0 head-to-head lifetime against Robredo.
At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open after receiving a bye in the first round, he beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6–2, 6–4, in the second round. In the third round, he lost to seventh seed Marin Čilić in straight sets 3–6, 4–6.
He had a disappointing start to the clay-court season, being eliminated in the first rounds of both the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the 2010 Rome Masters by Albert Montañés 4–6, 2–6, and Ernests Gulbis 2–6, 2–6, respectively.
He next played in the 2010 BMW Open, where he is seeded fifth. In the first round, he played German qualifier Peter Gojowczk and prevailed in three sets 3–6, 6–1, 6–2. In the second round, he took on Marco Chiudinelli, beating the Swiss in straight sets 6–3, 6–4. In the quarterfinals, the 2007 Champion and fourth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber stood in the way, but with some superb serving, Marcos eliminated the home favorite convincingly 6–3, 6–4. For a spot in the final, Baghdatis took on first seed Marin Čilić. Despite taking the first set, Baghdatis was unable to close out the match, eventually losing in three erratic sets 6–3, 2–6, 3–6.
He then made a quarterfinal appearance at the 2010 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur as the fifth seed, where he was upset by Argentinian Leonardo Mayer 7–5, 3–6, 4–6, despite saving 21/24 break points in the match.
At the 2010 French Open, Baghdatis was beaten by Britain's Andy Murray in the third round 2–6, 3–6, 6–0, 2–6.
Baghdatis suffered a surprisingly poor run in the 2010 grass-court season. He was dumped out in the first rounds in all three grass court tournaments he entered by Philipp Petzschner in Halle, Peter Luczak in s-Hertogenbosch, and Lukáš Lacko at Wimbledon. It was the worst showing he had had in Wimbledon, and even more disappointing as he had a good history record in the past few years there.
However, a reshuffle behind the scenes after the grass court season has resulted in Baghdatis once again working with Guillaume Perye.
Since then, he has reached the quarterfinals at the 2010 Farmers Classic tournament in Los Angeles, where he lost to Janko Tipsarević for the first time in their third meeting, and reached the final at the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, where he lost to in-form David Nalbandian, who marked his thorough comeback on the tour there.
He was ousted in the opening round at the 2010 Rogers Cup in Toronto, losing to Jérémy Chardy 5–7, 6–2, 6–7.
At the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, he found decent form. In the first round, he beat Marin Čilić for the first time 6–4, 7–5. In the second round, he toughed out a 6–2, 4–6, 7–6 victory over Brazilian danger-man Thomaz Bellucci. Then, in the third round, he stunned Tomáš Berdych 7–5, 6–4. In the quarterfinals, after six heartbreaking losses against the Spaniard, he finally defeated Rafael Nadal for the first time in his career 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. It was his second win over a world no. 1 that year, having earlier defeated then-no. 1 Roger Federer at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Oddly, he defeated a world no. 1 player on his seventh attempt again. As he stated back in March 2010 after beating Federer, "Seven is my lucky number." For only the second time, he made the semifinals of a Masters 1000 tournament since 2007, but here he could not beat Roger Federer again, as he succumbed to his in-form opponent 4–6, 3–6.
Just before his campaign at the 2010 US Open, he made an appearance at the last pre-US Open tuneup tournament, the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. According to the tally of points, Marcos has a chance to win this year's 2010 US Open Series if he won this tournament. Appearing as the top seeded player, he beat Igor Andreev for the first time 6–2, 6–4, and then came back from a set down to defeat Juan Ignacio Chela 1–6, 6–3, 6–2, to reach the quarterfinals. However, he lost to the eventual champion, Sergiy Stakhovsky 7–5, 1–6, 6–7, in the quarterfinals.
Arriving at the 2010 US Open, he lost in the first round 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 4–6, 5–7 to Arnaud Clément.
2011 - Another solid season
Baghdatis started the 2011 season by competing in the Brisbane International, losing in the quarterfinal to defending champion and second-seeded American Andy Roddick 2–6, 3–6. Marcos made it to the third round of the 2011 Australian Open, before retiring midway through the fourth set against Jürgen Melzer due to a finger injury.
Baghdatis had a very quiet summer on the ATP tour, his most noticeable appearance was at the 2011 Wimbledon championship where he gave Novak Djokovic (the eventual winner) a tough test in the 3rd round. The score was 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, during a point in the match Djokovic was unable to keep his cool on the Centre Court and at the end of losing a long rally repeatedly hit the grass court with his racket. For reasons known only to the people inside the stadium, as the match progressed, Baghdatis received a rapturous support from the home crowd, to the point where they were screaming every point he won. At the conclusion of points he won, the noise was said to exceed that of matches involving Scottish home favourite Andy Murray.
Just before the US Series 2011, Baghdatis teamed up with British coach Miles Maclagan.
Baghdatis found some form in the Kuala Lumpur, where he was runner up to a determined Janko Tipsarević.
In Tokyo, Baghdatis lost narrowly to Andy Murray 6–7, 6–2, 4–6. After the match Murray commented kindly that, "I think he played very well. At the end of the third set, we were both playing good tennis, but in the first two he was the better player. Marcos is a very, very good player. He might not have played his best tennis so far this year, but he has been close to the Top 10 before. He has a lot of talent, a big serve and has many ways to hurt you on the court."[citation needed]
2012 - Unlucky results, but thrilling tennis
In the 2012 Australian Open, Baghdatis lost in the 2nd round to Stanislas Wawrinka. During a change over Baghdatis smashed and broke four of his tennis rackets to vent frustration on how the match was unfolding. He was fined A$770 by the organization of the Australian Open for this behaviour. [10]
Baghdatis played Scot Andy Murray in the 3rd round of Wimbledon playing under the closed roof until 11.03pm, eventually losing 5–7, 6–3, 5–7, 1–6.
In July 2012 Marcos Baghdatis was selected by the Cypriot Olympic Committee to carry the Cypriot flag in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Games. In the interrupted first round match on 29–30 August, against Go Soeda of Japan, he won 6–7, 7–6, 6–2 before scoring an impressive 6–4, 6–4 victory over Richard Gasquet in the second round. Although he lost in the third round to Andy Murray in three sets, Baghdatis was the only player who won a set off Murray on the latter's run to Olympic gold.
2013 - Struggle with injuries and form
Marcos entered the Australian Open as the 28th Seed. He defeated Albert Ramos in the first round and Tatsuma Ito of Japan in the second round. However, he was defeated by the 4th seed David Ferrer in the third round in straight sets.
At Roland Garros, Marcos lost in the first round to the 24th seed Benoit Paire.
At Wimbledon, Marcos was defeated in the first round to the 10th seed Marin Cilic.
After a very poor run of form over the summer, Baghdatis found some rhythm at Washington. He had impressive wins over Lukas Lacko winning 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4 and 11th-ranked Kei Nishikori whom he defeated 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals. There he was defeated by eventual finalist John Isner in a competitive three set match 7-6(5), 4-6, 4-6.
At the US Open, Baghdatis defeated Tatsuma Ito in the first round. In the second round, he produced a stunning performance against the 17th seed Kevin Anderson, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. In the third round, he was defeated by an in-form Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets.
In his next two tournaments, he was defeated by Dmitry Tursunov at St. Petersburg in the first round, and was defeated by Wawrinka at Kuala Lumpur in the second round.
At the Japan Open in Tokyo, he was defeated in the opening round to top-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 after a decent performance.
At the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland, Baghdatis defeated Benjamin Becker in the first round before losing in the second round to top-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro 1-6, 2-6.[11]
Baghdatis in 2013 had his worst season on the ATP tour since 2004.
2014 - Poor start, new hope
Baghdatis was not given a wildcard into the Brisbane International, although he did receive one for the Heineken Open. In the opening round of the Heineken Open, Baghdatis lost to American lucky loser Steve Johnson in three sets.
Marcos entered the Australian Open, ranked at a low 109 in the ATP Rankings. Despite recovering from 1-4 down in the second set and saving several match points in the third set, whilst being cheered on by his many Greek/Cypriot fans, he was eventually bundled out by Denis Istomin 4-6, 5-7, 4-6 in the first round.
Due to a low ranking, he needed to qualify for his next tournament at the 2014 PBZ Zagreb Indoors. His poor run of form continued as he was defeated 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 by 19-year old Pedja Krstin from Serbia in the opening qualifying round.
Over March,after Marcos split with his coach, Marcos had found some form again with a good run in Miami, where he defeated Giraldo and Kohlschreiber in epic battles. He had another memorable match in the 3rd round against Tsonga but he could not convert his chances and went down in a fighting fashion 6/4, 6/7, 5/7 in over 2 hours. Marcos found passion again, and used the crowd to his advantage in his run in Miami. He is back to good form and he looks forward to a hopefully promising year ahead.
Marcos started the clay court season with a 1st round loss in Houston to Alejandro Gonzalez.
Marcos too a 3 month lay-off recovering from injuries and working hard to get into better physical condition. He skipped the rest of the clay season including Roland Garros. Upon return, Baghdatis got ready for Wimbledon by competing in an ATP Challenger event in Nottingham. Baghdatis has a successful week, winning his first title of any kind since Sydney 2010.
At Wimbledon, Baghdatis received a wildcard into the main draw and had a solid first up win over Dustin Brown in 4 sets before in the 2nd round, he disappointed losing to Leonardo Mayer in 4 sets.
Marcos returned to action on the ATP Challenger Tour. Entering challenger events in Vancouver & Aptos, Marcos knew good results would see him back in the top 100. He didn't disappoint, clinching both titles. His most recent one in Aptos was even more special, defeating world number 53 Mikhail Kukushikin in straight sets in the final. Marcos is finding top form and will look to push for a top 50 spot by the end of the season.
Marcos will be in the main draw for the U.S Open. He is now ranked 82 in the world, gaining a top 100 spot for the first time in 8 months.
Davis Cup
Baghdatis made his Davis Cup debut for the Cyprus Davis Cup team in 2000 as a 14-year-old. Upon making his debut Cyprus were competing in the lowest division of Davis Cup competition possible and fell one win shy of being promoted in 2000. In 2001 the Davis Cup week was held in Nicosia, Cyprus and Baghdatis led the team to an undefeated record which resulted in Cyprus' promotion to the Euro/Africa Group III. In 2005 Baghdatis again led the team to an undefeated record and Cyprus was promoted to the Euro/Africa Group II. In 2009 Baghdatis led the team to their best result and fell one match short of advancing to the Euro/Africa Group I, after leading two sets to love in the doubles against Finland, Baghdatis and Photos Kallias could not win the match and would lose the tie 2–3.
Baghdatis is one of the best Davis Cup players in the modern era. He has the longest winning streak out of any of the current ATP players in Davis Cup matches and the 2nd most of all-time.
Playing style
According to the Guardian, "Baghdatis is a wonderfully ebullient character who radiates immense enjoyment whenever and wherever he plays, and has acquired a loyal throng of fans who roar his every winning point."[12] Baghdatis is a shot maker, and is one of the most popular players on the ATP Tour.
2008 Australian Open controversy
Two days before his third-round match against Australia's Lleyton Hewitt at the 2008 Australian Open, a video posted on YouTube almost a year earlier made headlines in the local media. The video shows the 2008 fifteenth seed at a barbecue hosted by his Greek Australian fans in Melbourne in early 2007. In it, Baghdatis is seen holding a flare chanting, among other things, pro-Cyprus slogans such as "Turks out of Cyprus" twice, with the Hellas Fan Club, a group which was later at the centre of a clash with police.[13][14] A representative of the local Turkish Cypriot community referred to the chant as a "racist attack" and a "straight-forward provocation of our community", and called for the player's expulsion from the tournament and Australia, though no such action was taken.[15]
Supporters of Baghdatis said he was not calling for Turkish Cypriots to leave Cyprus, but rather an end to Turkey's military occupation since 1974.[16] In a statement issued through his manager, Baghdatis said he was "supporting the interest of my country Cyprus, while protesting against a situation that is not recognized by the United Nations".[17]
Major finals
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2006 | Australian Open | Hard | ![]() |
7–5, 5–7, 0–6, 2–6 |
ATP career finals
Singles: 11 (4–7)
|
|
Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 30 October 2005 | Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | ![]() |
7–6(12–10), 3–6, 5–7, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 29 January 2006 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Hard | ![]() |
7–5, 5–7, 0–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 1. | 17 September 2006 | China Open (tennis), Beijing, China | Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 6–0 |
Winner | 2. | 4 February 2007 | ATP Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia | Carpet (i) | ![]() |
7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 3. | 18 February 2007 | Marseille Open, Marseille, France | Hard (i) | ![]() |
4–6, 6–7(3–7) |
Runner-up | 4. | 17 June 2007 | Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany | Grass | ![]() |
5–7, 4–6 |
Winner | 3. | 25 October 2009 | Stockholm Open, Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | ![]() |
6–1, 7–5 |
Winner | 4. | 16 January 2010 | Medibank International, Sydney, Australia | Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 7–6(7–2) |
Runner-up | 5. | 8 August 2010 | Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington, United States | Hard | ![]() |
2–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Runner-up | 6. | 24 October 2010 | Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia | Hard (i) | ![]() |
6–3, 4–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 7. | 2 October 2011 | Proton Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Hard (i) | ![]() |
4–6, 5–7 |
Doubles: 3 (1–2)
|
|
Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 6 January 2008 | Chennai Open, Chennai, India | Hard | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
4–6, 5–7 |
Winner | 1. | 5 February 2012 | PBZ Zagreb Indoors, Zagreb, Croatia | Hard (i) | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–2, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2. | 5 May 2013 | BMW Open, Munich, Germany | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
1–6, 4–6 |
Singles performance timeline
Current till 2014 Australian Open.
Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | SR | W–L | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 4R | F | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 10 | 22–10 | ||
French Open | A | 1R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 9 | 8–9 | ||
Wimbledon | A | 1R | SF | QF | 4R | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 9 | 17–9 | ||
US Open | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 0 / 8 | 5–8 | |||
Win–Loss | 1–1 | 3–4 | 13–4 | 8–4 | 5–3 | 3–2 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 1–2 | 0 / 36 | 52–36 | ||
Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | 2R | Not Held | A | Not Held | 3R | NH | 0 / 2 | 3–2 | |||||||
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | A | QF | 2R | 3R | A | 4R | 2R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 7 | 11–7 | ||
Miami Masters | A | A | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | 3R | 0 / 7 | 6–7 | ||
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 0–3 | ||
Rome Masters | A | A | 2R | 3R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 3–6 | ||
Madrid Masters | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 3–6 | ||
Canada Masters | A | A | 1R | 3R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 3–6 | ||
Cincinnati Masters | A | A | 3R | 3R | A | LQ | SF | 1R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 6 | 9–6 | |||
Shanghai Masters | Not Held | A | 1R | A | 3R | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | |||||||
Paris Masters | A | A | A | SF | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | |||
Hamburg Masters | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | Not Masters 1000 Series | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | |||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–7 | 11–9 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 8–8 | 1–7 | 7–8 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 0 / 48 | 38–48 | ||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
Tournaments | 2 | 12 | 21 | 23 | 12 | 17 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 191 | ||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4 / 176 | 4–9 | |||
Overall Win–Loss | 2–2 | 11–12 | 37–20 | 48–22 | 14–12 | 23–16 | 43–27 | 28–27 | 35–25 | 15–22 | 4 / 179 | 252–179 | |||
Year End Ranking | 159 | 55 | 12 | 16 | 98 | 42 | 20 | 44 | 36 | 87 | $5,766,967 |
Doubles performance timeline
Current till 2013 U.S. Open.
Tournament | 2006 | 2007 | 2008-12 | 2013 | SR | W–L | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | ||||||||||||||
Australian Open | 1R | 2R | A | 3R | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | ||||||||
French Open | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||||||
Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | ||||||||
US Open | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||||||
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0 / 4 | 3–4 |
References
- ^ "Who is Marcos Baghdatis?". Hellenictennis.org.au. 21 January 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
- ^ "ATP Rankings". Retrieved 19 June 2009.
- ^ Baghdatis Becomes a Father to Baby Zahara
- ^ "Quotes of the week". BBC Sport. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ Association of Tennis Professionals (1 January 2008). "Nadal Rolls, Haase Springs New Year Surprise". Association of Tennis Professionals. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ "Saturday Night Fever". Tennis Australia. 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Baghdatis pulls out of Wimbledon". BBC News. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ Steere, Mike. "Baghdatis hands Hewitt easy passage". Melbourne: 2010 Australian Open. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ "Match Statistics". Melbourne: 2010 Australian Open. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ "Baghdatis fined $770 for racquet tantrum". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ http://www.tennischannel.com/news/NewsDetails.aspx?newsid=13221
- ^ Bierley, Steve (21 January 2006). "Baghdatis arrives to lead new wave of stars". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 January 2006.
- ^ "Marcos Baghdatis defiant over anti-Turk chant video". Times Online. London. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ "Baghdatis caught up in race row". BBC Sport. 18 January 2008.
- ^ "Kick out Baghdatis, say Turkish Cypriots". News.com.au. 18 January 2008. [dead link]
- ^ Chip Le Grand (19 January 2008). "Tennis star fuels anti-Turkish race row". The Australian.
- ^ Reko Rennie (18 January 2008). "Ban Baghdatis, say Turks". The Age. Melbourne.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Use dmy dates from June 2013
- 1985 births
- Living people
- Australian Open (tennis) junior champions
- Cypriot expatriate sportspeople
- Cypriot male tennis players
- Cypriot people of Lebanese descent
- Cypriot expatriates in France
- Greek Cypriot people
- Olympic tennis players of Cyprus
- People from Limassol
- Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics