The breaking of plates may be a popular tradition practiced in his homeland, but Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis has just taken the pastime to a whole new level.
Roger Federer pulled out of his defense of the Qatar Open Friday with a back injury before his arch-rival Rafael Nadal was beaten in the semifinals of the $1 million tournament by Gael Monfils.
Novak Djokovic shrugged off the loss of the opening set to beat Marcos Baghdatis 2-6 6-2 6-3 Friday to reach the semifinals of the ATP tournament in Basel.
Home favorite Roger Federer is through to the second round of the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel after a straight sets victory over Italian Potito Starace on Monday.
World number four Andy Murray continued his recent good form on Wednesday with a battling 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-4 first-round win over Marcos Baghdatis at the Japan Open.
NEW YORK -- It looked exactly as a James Blake match at the U.S. Open should: stadium packed to the rafters, cameras trained on his every move, big-time opponent on the other side of the net. And yet most everything about his 4-6, 3-6, 4-6 defeat to Spaniard David Ferrer on Friday seemed small.
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic survived his first big test of Wimbledon 2011 as he overcame crowd favorite Marcos Baghdatis to reach the last 16 of the grass-court grand slam in London on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic continued his impressive run of form this year by cruising into the third round at Wimbledon after beating South African Kevin Anderson in straight sets.
Top seed Rafael Nadal and second seed Novak Djokovic remain on course for a mouth-watering Madrid Masters final showdown after both players extended their impressive winning runs on Wednesday.
World number 13 Maria Sharapova has been forced to withdraw from the Paris Open suffering from illness.
Australian Open finalist Andy Murray suffered his second successive defeat as he was bundled out of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Wednesday.
Defending champion Andy Roddick advanced to the quarterfinals of the season-opening Brisbane International in Australia with a 6-4 6-1 triumph over Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov on Wednesday.
Defending champion Roger Federer will seek to claim his fourth Cincinnati Masters title on Sunday when he faces Mardy Fish.
Roger Federer is on course to claim a fourth Cincinnati Masters title after world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Novak Djokovic followed fourth seed Andy Murray in crashing out of the U.S. hardcourt tournament on Friday.
Argentina's David Nalbandian continued his comeback after injury by beating Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the final of the Washington Classic.
Argentine David Nalbandian continued his resurgence in form this week by cruising into the final of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington on Saturday.
It was shortly after the conclusion of the 2005 Davis Cup, won by Croatia on the strength of Ivan Ljubicic's 11-1 record, when someone asked Roger Federer about the tall, bald fellow at the center of things. "He's very secure, you know," Federer said. "He doesn't really look like he's going to panic."
1. We quite often wonder whether Player X can win a big title. More often than not, the answer is "yes." And here's why: in tennis, it's fairly easy to catch lightning in a bottle. Get hot for two weeks, catch a few breaks with the draw, serve well on crucial points and ... presto. The latest exemplar of this is Ivan (Northern Iowa) Ljubicic. Rumored to be headed into retirement last fall, the Croatian veteran played the tournament of his life week at the BNP Paribas event in Indian Wells. First, Roger Federer fell unexpectedly to Marcos Baghdatis. Then Ljubicic "caught a gear" with his tennis and took out Novak Djokovic, a resurgent Rafael Nadal and then Andy Roddick to take the title. Ljubicic, 31, might not have been the marquee choice of the tournament or the sponsors. But his title ought to fire the rest of the field with some optimism. If he can do it, why not me?
Defending champion Novak Djokovic battled to a three-set victory over Croatian Ivan Ljubicic to reach the semifinals of the Dubai Open where he will play Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
World number one Roger Federer has crashed out of the Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells despite holding three match points against his Cypriot opponent Marcos Baghdatis.
World number three Rafael Nadal of Spain survived a three-set battle to reach the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells as second seed Novak Djokovic crashed out on Wednesday night.
Novak Djokovic and Mikhail Youzhny are through to the final of the Dubai Tennis Championship after both players came through tough semifinal matches on Friday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both came through first round matches at the Dubai Open with straight sets victories on Monday.
Top seed Roger Federer sent out an ominous warning to his rivals with the most comfortable of Australian Open second-round victories over Victor Hanescu on Thursday.
World No. 3 Novak Djokovic fended off an initial challenge from Marco Chiudinelli in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday, then took control and cruised to a 3-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 win.
Sports superstar Roger Federer has organized a charity event to raise funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, as the tennis world rallies to contribute to the cause.
World No. 1 Roger Federer faces a potential quarterfinal clash with Nikolay Davydenko after his recent nemesis was drawn in the same quarter of the field for the Australian Open, which starts on Monday.
World number one Serena Williams came from a set and 5-2 down to beat Avarane Rezai of France to reach the final of the WTA tournament in Sydney on Thursday.
Serena Williams and Dinara Safina, the world's top-ranked women's tennis players, made winning starts to their 2010 season at the Sydney Invitational tournament on Tuesday.
Kim Clijsters continued her winning start to 2010 with a 6-0 6-3 demolition of Australia's Alicia Molik at the WTA tournament in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Australia's former world number one Lleyton Hewitt fought back from a set down to reach the second round of the Miami Masters with victory over Israel's Dudi Sela.
Roger Federer remains on course for a record 14th Grand Slam title after a fierce fightback saw him recover from a two-set deficit to defeat Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-2 and reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Third-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco pulled rank on Australian rookie Bernard Tomic on Monday when he swept to a 6-4 6-2 first round victory at the Brisbane International.
Britain's Andy Murray staged a stunning comeback to clinch a Wimbledon quarterfinal against Rafael Nadal after an epic five-set Centre Court battle that ended three minutes short of four hours and in near-darkness.
Third seed Novak Djokovic crashed out of Wimbledon in the second round on Wednesday, after losing in straight sets to Marat Safin.
Roger Federer launched his latest bid to complete a set of grand slam titles with a 6-4 6-4 6-3 victory over Sam Querrey of the United States in the French Open first round.
Robin Soderling of Sweden upset eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 3-6 6-4 Tuesday to advance to the second round of the ABN Amro tournament.
British fourth seed Andy Murray moved into semifinals of the ATP tournament in Marseille following a narrow 7-5 7-6 win over Nicolas Mahut of France on Friday.
It was business as usual for Roger Federer as he put his third round scare at the Australian Open behind him to ease past 13th seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals.
Rafael Nadal took a short cut into the Australian Open quarterfinals on Sunday when Paul-Henri Mathieu retired at 6-4 3-0 with a left calf muscle injury after just 50 minutes in Melbourne.
World No. 1 Roger Federer survived a massive scare at the Australian Open on Saturday, with the top seed twice coming from behind to win a five-set epic 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-1) 5-7 6-1 10-8 against unseeded Serb Janko Tipsarevic.
Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer barely broke sweat as he eased into the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-0 6-3 6-0 win over Argentina's Diego Hartfield in a night match at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Andy Roddick cemented his Australian Open preparations with a third straight Kooyong Classic title on Saturday, defeating Marcos Baghdatis 7-5 6-3 in the final in Melbourne.
Dutchman Robin Haase toppled former Australian Open finalist and world number 16 Marcus Baghdatis 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Chennai Open.
Rafael Nadal will face David Nalbandian in the final of the Paris Masters on Sunday.
A second successive defeat for world number one Roger Federer at the hands of David Nalbandian capped another eventful day at the Paris Masters which also saw the controversial exit of defending champion Nikolay Davydenko.
World number three Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Paris Masters after being trounced in his opening match by veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal returned to action for the first time in more than six weeks on Wednesday and did not disappointment his fans with a 6-4 6-4 win over Marcos Baghdatis at the Madrid Masters.
Second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez breezed past Paul Capdeville 6-1 6-2 on Wednesday to move into the quarterfinals of the China Open in Beijing.
NEW YORK -- He is the British number one, a designation that carries little weight in New York but the weight of the world at Wimbledon.
Top seed Roger Federer began his bid for a fourth consecutive U.S. Open title with a nonchalant 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory over American qualifier Scoville Jenkins in the first round on Monday.
Four-times champion Roger Federer has been installed as top seed for the men's singles at Wimbledon next week with Justine Henin accorded the honor in the women's event.
Tomas Berdych won the Halle grasscourt tournament on Sunday, beating Marcos Baghdatis 7-5 6-4 at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament on the Cypriot's 22nd birthday.
Tomas Berdych reached the final of the grasscourt event in Halle for the second successive year after Saturday's semifinal win over Finn Jarkko Nieminen.
With the women's last eight already decided, day nine was a chance for the men to catch up, and to carve out the list of finalists.
Holder Rafael Nadal reached the last 16 of the French Open with a 6-1 6-3 6-2 demolition of fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes on Saturday.
Day five saw some of the tournament's big names take to the courts, and, for the most part, surpass their respective opponents without much of an upset.
David Nalbandian survived an early scare to move into the Monte Carlo Masters second round with a 3-6 6-2 6-1 victory over Italian qualifier Federico Luzzi on Monday.
Rafael Nadal claimed a thrilling 3-6 6-2 6-3 victory over Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis to reach the second round of the Dubai Open.
Unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon beat Swede Robin Soederling 6-2 7-6 to join Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the final of the Marseille Open.
Unseeded Swede Robin Soederling reached the Marseille Open semifinals by outgunning local favorite Richard Gasquet 6-1 7-6 on Friday.
Second-seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus triumphed in the ATP event in Zagreb by beating home hope and defending champion Ivan Ljubicic in the final on Sunday.
Croatian top seed Ivan Ljubicic beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 2-6 6-3 7-5 on Saturday to set up a final with second-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the Zagreb Open.
Belgian Xavier Malisse thrashed Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1 6-1 in the first quarterfinal at the Delray Beach International on Friday as rankings trumped round robin aggregates.
We have a week left and only one defending champion still standing. Like the weather, Serena Williams is unusually hot. The American men have given a terrific accounting of themselves. Herewith, our midterm grades from the year's first major:
Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic became the first major casualty on the opening day of the Australian Open, falling 4-6 7-6 6-4 6-4 to American Mardy Fish on Monday.
Former world number one Martina Hingis' Australian Open preparations have been dealt an early blow after she was knocked out in the first round of the Sydney International by Jelena Jankovic.
Tommy Robredo came from a set down to beat Mario Ancic and give Spain an unassailable 2-0 lead in their Hopman Cup match against Croatia at the Burswood Dome in Perth on Monday.
It's match point for top-ranked tennis player Roger Federer at the 2006 Australian Open final in Melbourne, Australia.
World number four Ivan Ljubicic and U.S. Open runner-up Andy Roddick have pulled out of next week's Paris Masters tournament.
Arnaud Clement thrilled the home fans by knocking out top seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the first round of the Lyon indoor tournament.
Fernando Gonzalez overcame strong resistance from Gilles Simon of France to reach the second round of the Vienna Open 7-6 6-4.
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis won his first ATP title with a 6-4 6-0 victory over Croatian Mario Ancic at the China Open on Sunday.
Andre Agassi's glittering career came to a tearful conclusion when he lost in four sets to German qualifier Benjamin Becker in the U.S. Open third round.
Nikolay Davydenko became the first major victim at the Cincinnati Masters when he tumbled out 6-4 2-6 6-2 to Juan Ignacio Chela in the first round on Monday.
Former world number one Andy Roddick has slid out of the world's top 10 for the first time since 2002.
Roger Federer blasted his way into a fourth consecutive Wimbledon final with a 6-2 6-0 6-2 thrashing of Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman on Friday.
Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis sent former champion Lleyton Hewitt crashing out of Wimbledon on Wednesday with a 6-1 5-7 7-6 6-2 quarterfinal win.
British interest in the singles ended at Wimbledon on Monday when Andy Murray went down 6-3 6-4 7-6 to Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis.
Russian top seed Elena Dementieva beat Serb Ana Ivanovic 7-6 6-4 on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Ordina Open in Den Bosch.
French hope Julien Benneteau upset 19th seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in a gripping five-set match that lit up a damp and overcast Roland Garros.
Defending champion and top seed Andy Roddick swept past Austria's Oliver Marach 6-3 6-4 at the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston on Wednesday.
Unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis extended his extraordinary run at the Australian Open on Tuesday, upsetting seventh seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-4 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-3 to reach the semifinals.
Argentine second seed David Nalbandian stormed past Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan 6-2 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors tournament.
Top seed Mariano Puerta, the subject of doping allegations, slumped to an embarrassing 6-2 6-7 7-5 defeat to Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis at the Japan Open.
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