Official Baghdatis Wimbledon thread

[Cyprus rules!]

[Kifeas]

[Marina2005]

Heard on the radio this morning that Nadal has beaten Federer 5 times already.....................its going to be a very hard match for Marcos indeed.
Good luck to him.

[Cyprus rules!]

Good Luck Marco!

[Alexios]

From the official Wimbeldon site.


The mighty Marcos Baghdatis might have been flying under the radar since his surprise appearance, ranked 54, in the Australian Open final in January, but he’s been noticed by plenty of people during the Wimbledon fortnight.

The six-foot Cypriot is the number one player in his country, and the first of his countrymen to break into the world top 100 rankings.

And he has earned his success. While still young, his family soon found that his skills and potential outgrew the available facilities in his home town of Limasool. So, aged 13, he packed his bags for France, where he trained at a tennis academy in Paris on an Olympic solidarity youth development programme scholarship. Even at this tender age, he was already the number one senior player in Cyprus, and clearly needed to find tougher competition on a bigger stage. By 2003, he had become the number one junior player in the world.

So what happened after his flash of brilliance at the Australian Open? “After Melbourne, I had a lot doubts in my head,” Baghdatis said. “Was I there because I deserved it or because it was just one time? A lot of things went through my mind. Then the doubts start to come. I had some injuries, some health problems. So I started losing confidence.”

“I’m just getting confident again, feeling the ball well, playing good tennis,” he added.

Yet until this year, the man with the sunshine smile had not won a single match on grass. Also until these Championships, Baghdatis has said that he prefers hard courts and regards himself as a baseliner. This may be a view he changes after his fortnight in SW19. He has already said: “I like grass courts. It’s pretty good to play on it. It fits to my game. I’m playing really aggressively and stuff. There’s nothing I don't like. I like it.”

Baghdatis is a man who seems to wear his heart on his sleeve, pulling the crowd with him to share his own enjoyment of his matches. He said: “That’s the way I am. That’s who I am. I mean, I love this game, I like playing this game. I just go on the court. I love playing in front of so many people.” He pumps himself up by shouting and thumping his chest with his fist, in semi-Tarzan fashion. Combine this with his streaky blond locks and deep-bronzed skin, and he conjures an image of a tennis Adonis.

In this, his second visit to Wimbledon, the 21-year-old had a slow start in first round with a five-setter against Briton Alan Mackin. His second round opponent retired. In the third, he should have fallen to Sebastien Grosjean but came through that match like a trooper. Then the 18th seed massacred Murray in the fourth round.

This big-hitting guy is growing in presence as the tournament progresses. At this stage no-one would put it past him to take it all the way. After beating Lleyton Hewitt in the quarters, Baghdatis replied to the question with “Why not? I mean, I’m in the semis of a Grand Slam. Everybody can beat everybody, that’s what I think. Why not?” Back at the Australian Open in January he took a set against Roger Federer in the final, so he knows he can do it, should that be the scenario that falls out.

The Baghdatis philosophy is a winningly simple one: “I don’t think a lot about my game. I just think to find the solution to win the match. That’s all. Everybody, I rate them ten out of ten. Everybody is a tough player. Everybody is playing good tennis.”

And with this simple philosophy the mighty Marcos seems to stay relaxed and keep his cool in the heat of the match – “a tennis match is nothing for me. There are so many things more important than a tennis match in life. So there is nothing to worry about. For me, it’s just a game. I’m very happy to play this game because I love this game. And if I lose this game, it doesn’t matter for me. There are things more important in life than this.”
Written by Sally Easton

[city]

sorry Marcos

Rafael Nadal (Spa) bt (18 ) Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) 6-1 7-5 6-3

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/5158994.stm

[100%cypriot]

[cannedmoose]

[100%cypriot]

[Cyprus rules!]

It is true though, Nicosia is the only divided City in the world, which is silly considering we're in the 21st century....But he is a bit of an Idiot, I must say...

[100%cypriot]

[Cyprus rules!]

I know, I agree!! It was stupid of him...silly man!

[Cyprus rules!]

Actually when he said it, my whole family just let out this disappointed sign...We just thought, "Oh dear, not a good move"..Well at least that what I was thinking!