Marcos Baghdatis, former finalist at the Australian Open, warmed up for the very first Grand Slam of 2010 with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory over his opponent, Frenchman Richard Gasquet, at the Sydney International finals.
During the 2006 Australian Open, Baghdatis made waves by ranking second to Roger Federer, and even won the first set before the break that lasted 75 minutes due to a rainstorm that fell over Sydney Olympic Park.
Baghdatis won 16 out of his last 17 games. This included a challenger event that was held in Tashkent, plus a title which he won at Stockholm. He is unseeded in the Australian Open, and is currently waiting to make his comeback after suffering a number of back and wrist injuries as of last year.
Back in 2006, he was also unseeded when he enjoyed a victory against David Nalbandian and Andy Roddick, before falling to Roger Federer during the Australian Open’s final. Baghdatis is a former world champion in the juniors division, and he was even a winner of the Australian Open junior’s title back in 2003.
At the presentation of the trophies, Baghdatis made a quick and sweet speech, “I want to thank my uncles, cousins, everyone, and it’s my brother’s birthday.”
On Jan. 19, Baghdatis will go against Paolo Lorenzi, an Italian, for his very first Australian Open match. During the said event, there is a huge possibility that Baghdatis will go against Lleyton Hewitt, as well as a quarterfinal match against Federer.