Marcos Baghdatis

Marcos Baghdat is (born 17 June 1985 in Limassol) is a Greek Cypriot professional tennis player. 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 8 in August 2006.

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.

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. Baghdatis next tournament was the Medibank International Sydney, Baghdatis was the defending champion and second seed in this event, however he withdrew from the tournament, citing a groin injury. Baghdatis made it to the 3rd round in the Australian open before retiring mid-way through the 4th set against Jürgen Melzer.

Marcos Baghdatis With His Special Girl

Baghdatis's 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.

Marcos Baghdatis Celebrate Expression

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. 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.