By Richard Pagliaro
Photo Credit: Tony Chang/Chang Photography

(March 17, 2010) INDIAN WELLS — Sporting a scraggly beard and shoulder-length hair flowing freely beneath a white head band that frames the expressive face of an adventurous spirit, Marcos Baghdatis could pass for a southern California surfer.

Riding a wave of spirited shot making on crucial points, Baghdatis fought off three match points to beat Roger Federer for the first time, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4) at the BNP Paribas Open tonight.

"Best win of my career. I think that says everything," a beaming Baghdatis said after beating a reigning World No. 1 for the first time in his career. "I cannot say I'm not happy. I'm very happy. A lot of emotions are going through right now. It's the best win of my career. I lost a lot of matches against those top guys, and it's a relief to win a match like that after being out for two years, having some tough moments. It's a great moment for me.  I'll try to enjoy it."

It was the first time Federer failed to win a match while holding match points since the 2006 Rome final when he fell to Rafael Nadal.

Lack of match play proved costly to Federer, who sidelined for six weeks with a lung infection. It was Federer's first tournament since he captured his 16th career Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open in January and the loss left him ruing lost opportunities on a night when both men won exactly 108 points.

"I used up too many chances. Comes backs and haunts you," Federer said.  "But he hung in there, obviously, otherwise he wouldn't be there. That was the result.  I think it wasn't the worst match, you know.  Conditions are quick, it's tough to return, but I did many good things tonight but also many bad things.  It's just a question of not letting that happen too often."



The match was a rematch of the 2006 Australian Open final, which Federer won 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2. Federer said tonight's clash didn't quite live up to the level of the Melbourne major, but as the third set breaker unfolded the buzz from the crowd built to a crescendo.

"Close match, you know.  It wasn't the greatest match of all time I think from his side, either.  I think the Australian Open final was much higher quality," Federer said. "Just because he beat me doesn't mean he's played the match of his life.  He's a good player. He's played many of the top guys. Tonight he just hung in there, and that was enough."

Wearing a "Love Cyprus" patch on his shirt sleeve, Baghdatis, who was born in Limassol, Cyprus, but spent his junior years living and training in Paris, played with a pure passion for battle tonight.

"I stayed there. I stayed focused. I didn't give a lot of points," Baghdatis said. "At the right moments I was more aggressive, I can say, and being smart, playing very smart tennis, serving big. I did everything well, because Roger had a great percentage of first serves today.  One moment he was playing only with first serves, so it was really tough to return.  But, you know, I kept calm."

Once typecast as a skilled shotmaker and spirited showman whose lack of discipline and suspect conditioning prevented him from fully realizing his great gift for the game, the former junior World No. 1 has had to claw his way back up the tennis ladder playing in Challenger circuit outposts like Uzbekistan last fall in an effort to revive his ranking that had plummeted from a career-high of No. 8 to No. 151 last July. Baghdatis won that Challenger title in Tashkent and went on to capture Stockholm last October. It was his first ATP Tour-level title in two years and he carried that momentum into this season, winning Sydney to start the season and following that effort with a semifinal appearance in Dubai.



His path to this Palm Springs moment was paved on the rocky courts of Tashkent where Baghdatis did the dirty work necessary to revive his career.

"The courts were really rough, very hard.  Every time you have to make a step, you had pain everywhere," Baghdatis said of his Challenger experience. "The balls were flying.  Nothing    you couldn't feel. I won the tournament by fighting, by mentally being strong, so I think that helped me to come back and, you know, win matches confident. Helped me a lot.  I won four challengers in a year, I think in not even three months, I can say, three, four challengers.  So I think that was very important for me and was a great decision by me by my team to go play challengers."

The 33rd-ranked Cypriot is playing his sixth tournament of the season, while Federer was making his third tournament start of the year and that recent experience was evident in the decision making of both men.

"I mean, you cannot be aggressive the whole match.  You have to choose the points that you have to be aggressive," Baghdatis said. "You have to be smart.  You have to change the game. I think that's what I did well today.  Roger was, I can say, a bit too aggressive.  He was missing a lot of balls, and I was more calm than him today."

Federer's first match points came with Baghdatis serving at 4-5 in the second set.

The top-seeded Swiss could not connect on a backhand and missed a forehand as Baghdatis held. In the next game, Federer sliced a backhand into top of tape and Baghdatis broke for 6-5.

Serving for the set, Baghdatis hit a drop shot winner and Federer followed with successive backhand errors. When Federer sent a shot deep, Baghdatis was level at once set apiece.

"I just couldn't find the way to win. I was maybe one shot away," Federer said. "That's how much it takes sometimes from winning or losing.  That's why you can't say I played a bad match, and if I win I'm going to tell you it's a good match. It was a decent match, but maybe wrong choices at the wrong time for me. Maybe going for too much, maybe playing too passively.  That's not something you can really work on.  That comes through playing matches, and that's what I need."

At 4-all in the tie breaker, Federer sailed a backhand beyond the baseline.



Racing to his right, Baghdatis blistered a running forehand crosscourt that rattled the outstretched racket of Federer to give the Cypriot his first match point. Reaching up to strike the ball at the peak of its ascent, Baghdatis blasted his biggest serve of the night — 135 mph missile down the middle — that Federer could not control to conclude a two hour, 22-minute match that combined periods of patchy play with stretches of riveting shot making.

Winless in six prior meetings with Federer, Baghdatis dropped to his knees and kissed the court when it was over in posting his first career victory over a reigning World No. 1.

"Seven is my lucky number," said Baghdatis, whose previous career-best win came when he beat then World No. 3 Andy Roddick en route to the 2006 Australian Open final. "It's an amazing win for me. I'm very lucky. I'm having a lot of fun."

It was a frustrating finish for Federer, who felt he should have sealed the deal in two sets.

"I should never be in a breaker, you know. So why analyze the breaker?" said Federer, tapping his fingers on the top of the brown wooden desk in the post-match press conference. "That's the way I analyze tennis."

Baghdatis saved two match points at 4-5 in the second set and a third match point at 5-6 in the final set to force the tie breaker.

On the third match point, Federer opened the court and had a good look at an opening down the line, but flattened his backhand into the net. Baghdatis blistered a 134 mph service winner and when Federer framed a backhand that sailed beyond the baseline the crowd erupted in rhythmic applause in anticipation of the tie breaker.

"I had very good spells on my serve holding comfortably the whole time.  But he was serving well, too, so you don't really get a rhythm out there too much because there's hardly any rallies," Federer said. "So that was for both of us.  Then the tighter it gets, the more rallies there are all of a sudden. So this is when you start thinking about it a bit too much, and take wrong decisions."



Baghdatis hopes to ride the elation of this night into tomorrow afternoon's fourth-round match with Tommy Robredo. Baghdatis has not surrendered a set to the 18th-seeded Spaniard in three meetings.

When the euphoria of this career high win eventually subsides, just how far can tonight's win carry the flashy Baghdatis? Based on the smile plastered across his face after the match point moment it's clear he still derives a deep joy from competing and with his body finally healthy and ranking revived, Baghdatis says he's learned to lead a life without limits. 

"I don't want to put limits. No limts," Baghdatis said. Asked if he still has visions of raising a Grand Slam title trophy someday, Baghdatis smiled and replied: "Yes, that's why I play."