Baghdatis reaches Legg Mason final
At this juncture of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, it’s usually safe to dispense with the introductions. But in the year of wilting Americans and underachieving seeds, it’s absolutely necessary.
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So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 finalist — Marcos Baghdatis.
Seeded No. 8 and ranked No. 25, Baghdatis has four career titles, including one this year (Sydney). The 25-year-old, the only player from Cyprus ranked in the top 800, vaulted to No. 8 in the world in 2006 when he reached the finals of the Australian Open, the semifinals at Wimbledon, and took Andre Agassi to five sets in a late-night, second-round thriller at the U.S. Open.
In his first appearance at the Legg Mason, Baghdatis has moved stealthily through the draw. Only one of his wins has come against a seeded player (No. 3 Fernando Verdasco of Spain on Friday).
Saturday afternoon in the semifinals, Baghdatis took down unseeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). He advances to the title match against the winner of Saturday night’s match between No. 4 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia and wild-card David Nalbandian of Argentina.
After a stress-free opening set Saturday, Baghdatis had some anxious moments in the second, most notably in the eighth game when he rolled his ankle and needed several minutes to recover.
Offering help was Malisse, who fetched his opponent an ice bag.
“If you win a match, you don’t want to win it that way [by injury],” said the 30-year-old Malisse, who is ranked No. 62. “It was just a reaction.”
After getting his ankle taped, Baghdatis showed no lack of mobility as he won the next two points to close out his service game, then the next two against Malisse’s serve.
“I was a bit scared,” said Baghdatis. “But I got it taped and it was fine.”
Both players held serve until Baghdatis broke in the 11th game for a 6-5 lead. But then, needing a break to keep the match alive, Malisse, returned the favor, winning the final four points of the game.
In the tiebreaker, however, Baghdatis took control with back-to-back aces. Then Malisse lost consecutive points by hitting balls into the net. When Baghdatis followed up a 127 mph serve with a brilliant drop shot, he had a 6-1 lead and five match points, which he didn’t waste.
“Coming in today, I knew the conditions would be tough,” Baghdatis said. “But it was an advantage to me because I think I’m a bit fitter than him.”
Many other players at the Legg Mason this week, have espoused the virtues of fitness, none more religiously than Baghdatis, who tumbled all the way from No. 8 in 2006 to No. 151 last year when he was forced to play Challenger Tour events.
“It wasn’t easy,” Baghdatis said. “Especially when you play in a country like Uzbekistan.”
