Marcos Baghdatis

Marcos Baghdatis
Μάρκος Παγδατής

Country	Cyprus
Residence	Limassol, Cyprus
Born	17 June 1985 (1985-06-17) (age 26) Paramytha, Limassol District, Cyprus
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro	2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$4,572,777
Singles
Career record	204-137
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	No. 8 (August 21, 2006)
Current ranking	No. 44 (November 14, 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	F (2006)
French Open	4R (2007)
Wimbledon	SF (2006)
US Open	2R (2004, 2006)
Doubles
Career record	21–25
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 93 (January 7, 2008)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2007)
French Open	–
Wimbledon	1R (2007)
US Open	–
Last updated on: October 14, 2010.

Marcos Baghdatis (Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, [ˈmarkos paɣðaˈtis]) (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 ranking of no. 8 in August 2006.^[2]

Personal life

Marcos Baghdatis is the son of a Greek Cypriot mother and a Lebanese father, Christos, who migrated to Cyprus.^[1]

Baghdatis began playing tennis at age 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.

On January 28, 2006, Baghdatis received an exemption from the otherwise mandatory Greek Cypriot national service so that he could concentrate instead on playing tennis.

He received the 2005 Cyprus Male Athlete of the Year award.

Tennis career

Baghdatis became the ITF World Junior Tennis Champion in 2003 and joined the ATP professional tour later that year.

2004

Baghdatis performed moderately throughout most of 2004. He picked up his form later in that year.

At the U.S. 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

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 Chilean 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.

2006

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. three Andy Roddick in the fourth round. He then defeated the seventh seed Croat 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 Argentine 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, 7-5, 5-7, 0-6, 2-6.

"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.^[3]

At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.

At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, 6–1, 5–7, 7–6, 6–2. Baghdatis then lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, 1-6, 5-7, 3-6.

At the U.S. Open, Baghdatis defeated Alexander Waske of Germany in the first round, 7–6, 7–6, 6–3. He played retiring U.S. player Andre Agassi in the second round, and in a long match that lasted past midnight, Baghdatis lost, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 5-7. Although Agassi took a 4–0 lead in the fourth set, Baghdatis rallied to take the set. He overcame cramping in the fifth set, trying to push the set into a tiebreaker, but Agassi broke his serve in the last game.

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

Marcos Baghdatis serving at the 2007 US Open

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 (5), 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 International Series Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France, Baghdatis advanced to his second consecutive singles final and the fifth of his career, where he lost to Frenchman Gilles Simon, 4-6, 6-7.

At the French Open, Baghdatis defeated former semifinalist Sébastien Grosjean in the first round, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4. He then beat Kristian Pless of Denmark, 7–5, 6–3, 6–4, to advance for the first time in his career to the third round. There, he defeated Czech Jan Hájek, 6–2, 6–2, ret. In the fourth round, Baghdatis lost to Russian 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 Czech Tomáš Berdych, 5-7, 4-6.

At Wimbledon, as the tenth seed (16th-ranked), he made it to the quarterfinals for the second straight year, defeating Ernests Gulbis, Nicolas Devilder, 23rd seed (25th-ranked) David Nalbandian, and sixth seed (4th-ranked) Nikolay Davydenko, before losing to fourth seed (5th-ranked) Novak Đoković in a thrilling five-hour match, which Đoković won 5-7, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 5-7. At the next Grand Slam, the 2007 U.S. Open, Baghdatis was defeated by no. 106 ranked Max Mirnyi, 3–6, 5–7, 6–3, 6–7, in the first round. Baghdatis had a 1–5 lead in the last set tiebreaker, but lost it 8–6.

At the 2007 Paris Masters, Baghdatis found good form. He reached the third round, where he crushed Nikolay Davydenko, 6–2, 6–2, and then entered the quarterfinals and defeated Tommy Robredo, 6–4, 6–4. Despite being up one set to love and possessing an early service break in the penultimate set, Baghdatis was unable to post his first ever victory against second seed Rafael Nadal, losing to the Spaniard, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6. Had he won the tournament (and had Richard Gasquet lost in his semifinal match against David Nalbandian), he would have qualified for the eighth and final position in the Tennis Masters Cup event in Shanghai.

2008

Baghdatis started his season on the 2008 ATP Tour at the 2008 Chennai Open in India. Seeded second, Baghdatis suffered a surprising loss to Robin Haase, who defeated him, 3-6, 4-6 in the first round. However, Baghdatis and Marc Gicquel defeated singles world no. two Rafael Nadal and partner Tomeu Salvà in doubles, 6–4, 6–4 .^[4] He was invited to his first AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, filling in for an ill Roger Federer on short notice, where he defeated top-10 players Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando González, before falling to Andy Roddick in the final.

At the 2008 Australian Open, Baghdatis was dealt a tough draw, which pitted him against 2002 champion Thomas Johansson, and then 2005 champion Marat Safin. He managed to beat Safin in five sets. Baghdatis then lost in the third round to local favourite, and former world no. 1, Lleyton Hewitt, in five sets, 6–4, 5–7, 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, in a match lasting 282 minutes, beginning at 11:52 pm and finishing at 4:34 am.^[5]

Marcos skipped the 2008 Miami Masters, 2008 Torneo Godó, 2008 Rome Masters, 2008 Monte Carlo Masters, and 2008 Hamburg Masters because he had a problem with his ankle during the 2008 Davis Cup and the exhibition match. The day after the exhibition match, Marcos went to Paris, where his doctor informed him that he should stay away from any tournaments because of the high ankle sprain. He then followed an intensive schedule of physiotherapy to be ready for the next Grand Slam, which was the 2008 French Open.

At the 2008 Roland Garros, the Cypriot didn't cope well, as he still had the high ankle sprain injury at the time. This caused him to lose in the first round to Simone Bolelli in straight sets, 2-6, 4-6, 2-6.

Baghdatis, keen to improve his 2008 season, and with the grass season on the horizon, entered a Challenger event in Great Britain. The next week, he entered the 2008 Halle Open in Germany, where he was the runner up in 2007, and was eventually knocked out by Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.

At the 2008 Wimbledon championships, seeded tenth, Baghdatis continued to show good form on grass, progressing to the fourth round, and dropping only one set en route. Baghdatis faced big serving Feliciano López in the fourth round and ultimately lost in 5 sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-8. The match lasted 222 minutes, and was emotionally charged, with Marcos unable to convert three match points on the Lopez serve in the fifth set.

Baghdatis suffered back problems for the remainder of the season. Thus, he did not participate in the 2008 US Open and was forced to retire in Orléans, Metz, and the Paris Masters.

2009

Marcos Baghdatis in 2009 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships

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.^[6]

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

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.^[7][8] 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 years 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 U.S. Open, he lost in the first round, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 4–6, 5–7 to Arnaud Clément.

2011

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 Australian Open, before retiring midway through the fourth set against Jürgen Melzer due to a finger injury.

Baghdatis had a very quite summer on the ATP tour, his most noticeable appearance was at the 2011 Wimbledon championship were 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 only known 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, were he was runner up to a determined Janko Tipsarevic.

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."

Playing style

Baghdatis' playing style is relaxed and smooth. His main strength is his powerful forehand and a natural talent for placement. He can make accurate and powerful down-the-line forehands and cross-court forehands on the run and often patiently constructs points to get in a position from where he can make outright winners with those shots. He also has one of the best backhands in the game, especially his two-handed backhand down the line. Baghdatis is noted for often playing high-risk tennis, attempting difficult shots which, depending on their execution, can pay off big or backfire. Unfortunately, these difficult shots have sometimes resulted in self-destructive losses.

He also has an exuberant and festive on-court presence that frequently rubs off on to the spectators. At many majors, it is not uncommon to also see a large band of Cypriot and Greek fans (especially at Wimbledon and the Australian Open) vocally supporting Baghdatis and lightly mocking his opposition in a similar manner to football fans. 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."^[9]

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, anti-Turkish 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.^[10][11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13] 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".^[14]

Equipment

Shoes: Adidas Barricade VI

Racquet: Tecnifibre TFlash 315 VO2 Max Racquet

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2006	Australian Open	Hard	Roger Federer	7–5, 5–7, 0–6, 2–6

ATP Career Finals

Singles: 11 (4–7)

Legend (pre/post 2009) Grand Slam tournaments (0–1) Tennis Masters Cup ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP Masters Series ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP International Series Gold ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) ATP International Series & ATP World Tour 250 Series (4–5)

Titles by Surface Hard (3–5) Grass (0–1) Clay (0–0) Carpet (1–1)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	30 October 2005	Basel, Switzerland	Carpet (i)	Fernando González	7–6(12–10), 3–6, 5–7, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	29 January 2006	Melbourne, Australia	Hard	Roger Federer	7–5, 5–7, 0–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	17 September 2006	Beijing, China	Hard	Mario Ančić	6–4, 6–0
Winner	2.	4 February 2007	Zagreb, Croatia	Carpet (i)	Ivan Ljubičić	7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up	3.	18 February 2007	Marseille, France	Hard (i)	Gilles Simon	4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up	4.	17 June 2007	Halle, Germany	Grass	Tomáš Berdych	5–7, 4–6
Winner	3.	25 October 2009	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Olivier Rochus	6–1, 7–5
Winner	4.	16 January 2010	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Richard Gasquet	6–4, 7–6(7–2)
Runner-up	5.	8 August 2010	Washington, U.S.	Hard	David Nalbandian	2–6, 6–7(4–7)
Runner-up	6.	24 October 2010	Moscow, Russia	Hard (i)	Viktor Troicki	6–3, 4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	7.	2 October 2011	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Hard (i)	Janko Tipsarević	4–6, 5–7

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Legend (pre/post 2009) Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0) ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)

Titles by Surface Hard (0–1) Grass (0–0) Clay (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	6 January 2008	Chennai, India	Hard	Marc Gicquel	Sanchai Ratiwatana Sonchat Ratiwatana	4–6, 5–7

Performance timeline

Singles

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through to the 2011 Swiss Indoors.

Tournament	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	SR	W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	A	4R	F	2R	3R	4R	3R	3R	0 / 7	19–7
French Open	LQ	1R	2R	4R	1R	1R	3R	2R	0 / 7	7–7
Wimbledon	LQ	1R	SF	QF	4R	A	1R	3R	0 / 6	14–6
US Open	2R	1R	2R	1R	A	A	1R	1R	0 / 6	2–6
Win–Loss	1–1	3–4	13–4	8–4	5–3	3–2	4–4	5–4	0 / 26	42–26
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	A	A	QF	2R	3R	A	4R	2R	0 / 5	9–5
Miami Masters	A	A	3R	2R	A	2R	3R	2R	0 / 5	3–5
Monte Carlo Masters	A	A	A	1R	A	A	1R	1R	0 / 3	0–3
Rome Masters	A	A	2R	3R	A	A	1R	1R	0 / 4	3–4
Madrid Masters	A	A	2R	2R	A	A	2R	2R	0 / 4	3–4
Canada Masters	A	A	1R	3R	A	A	1R	1R	0 / 4	2–4
Cincinnati Masters	A	A	3R	3R	A	LQ	SF	1R	0 / 4	8–4
Shanghai Masters	Not Masters Series					A	1R	A	0 / 1	0–1
Paris Masters	A	A	A	SF	1R	A	A	A	0 / 2	4–2
Hamburg Masters	A	A	1R	1R	A	NMS			0 / 2	0–2
Career Statistics
Tournaments	2	12	21	23	12	17	28	27	142
Titles–Finals	0–0	0–1	1–2	1–3	0–0	1–1	1–2	0–0	4 / 142	4–9
Hard Win–Loss	2–2	7–7	22–12	23–15	9–9	21–12	35–18	18–18	3 / 96	137–93
Clay Win–Loss	0–0	0–2	7–4	12–5	0–1	0–2	8–6	3–7	0 / 27	30–27
Grass Win–Loss	0–0	0–2	8–3	8–2	5–2	2–2	0–3	5–2	0 / 16	28–16
Carpet Win–Loss	0–0	4–1	0–1	5–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	1 / 3	11–2
Overall Win–Loss	2–2	11–12	37–20	48–22	14–12	23–16	43–27	28–27	4 / 142	206–138
Year End Ranking	159	55	12	16	98	42	20	44	$4,334,371

ATP Tour career earnings

Year	Majors	ATP wins	Total wins	Earnings ($)	Money list rank
2003	0	0	0	22,227	361
2004	0	0	0	61,341	243
2005	0	0	0	264,181	91
2006	0	1	1	1,155,495	11
2007	0	1	1	890,330	19
2008	0	0	0	320,776	91
2009*	0	0	0	116,503	76
Career	0	2	2	2,833,985	169

* As of April 27, 2009.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Who is Marcos Baghdatis?". Hellenictennis.org.au. January 21, 2007. http://www.hellenictennis.org.au/marcos_baghdatis/index.php. Retrieved 2007-07-12. 
2. ^ "ATP Rankings". http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
3. ^ "Quotes of the week". BBC Sport. 23 January 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/4638786.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-28. 
4. ^ Association of Tennis Professionals (2008-01-01). "Nadal Rolls, Haase Springs New Year Surprise". Association of Tennis Professionals. Archived from the original on January 4, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080104014656/http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/chennai_tuesday.asp. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
5. ^ "Saturday Night Fever". Tennis Australia. 2008-01-20. http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2008-01-20/200801201200788933421.html. 
6. ^ "Baghdatis pulls out of Wimbledon". BBC News. 2009-06-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8107628.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
7. ^ Steere, Mike. "Baghdatis hands Hewitt easy passage". Melbourne: 2010 Australian Open. http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2010-01-23/201001231264237944125.html. Retrieved 23 January 2010. 
8. ^ "Match Statistics". Melbourne: 2010 Australian Open. http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/stats/day11/1302ms.html. Retrieved 23 January 2010. 
9. ^ Bierley, Steve (2006-01-21). "Baghdatis arrives to lead new wave of stars". The Guardian (London). http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tennis/story/0,,1691656,00.html. Retrieved 2006-01-21. 
10. ^ "Marcos Baghdatis defiant over anti-Turk chant video". Times Online (London). 2008-01-18. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article3209759.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
11. ^ "Baghdatis caught up in race row". BBC Sport. 2008-01-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7195318.stm. 
12. ^ "Kick out Baghdatis, say Turkish Cypriots.". News.com.au. 2008-01-18. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23071537-29277,00.html. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ Chip Le Grand (2008-01-19). "Tennis star fuels anti-Turkish race row". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23074802-2702,00.html. 
14. ^ Reko Rennie (2008-01-18). "Ban Baghdatis, say Turks". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/news/tennis/banish-baghdatis-say-angry-turks/2008/01/18/1200620184170.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1. 

External links

• Marcos Baghdatis's Official website (English) (French) (Greek)
• Marcos Baghdatis at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Marcos Baghdatis at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile

Persondata
Name	Baghdatis, Marcos
Alternative names	Baghdatis, Marcos
Short description
Date of birth	1985-6-17
Place of birth	Paramytha, Limassol District, Cyprus
Date of death
Place of death