philipas
01-27-2006, 10:05 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia — And then there were none — or so it might seem to Roger Federer.
The top-ranked Swiss went from Australian Open front-runner to overwhelming favorite when his closest contender, fourth-seeded David Nalbandian, lost Thursday to Marcos Baghdatis, the exciteable 20-year-old from Cyprus.
As if Federer's road weren't already easy enough: Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Marat Safin didn't show up because of injuries, and Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt lost in the early rounds.
If Federer defeats 21st-seeded Nicolas Kiefer of Germany in Friday's other semifinal, he'll face Baghdatis, a former junior world champion, in Sunday's championship match.
Baghdatis rallied to oust Nalbandian, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, winning 17 of the last 21 points and enduring a break for a late storm when he was three points from winning.
"Everything is first time here: getting to the quarters was the first time, getting to the semis was the first time, getting to the final — I hope it continues," said Baghdatis, who had many Australians of Greek heritage, all dressed in blue, chanting for him inside Rod Laver Arena.
Nalbandian, the Masters Cup champion and 2002 Wimbledon finalist from Argentina, is the last man — and one of only four in 2005 — to beat Federer.
Baghdatis aims to be the next.
"I believe it, my coach believe it, the guys I work with believe, my parents believe it," said Baghdatis, ranked 54th. "I have worked for that ... I'm very proud of myself ... it's been amazing."
Baghdatis produced some stunning shots — chasing into the corners, stepping into serves and racing to the net to hit 52 winners and only 41 errors. Nalbandian had four fewer winners and 15 more unforced errors.
Baghdatis' winning streak includes victories here over No. 2 Roddick and No. 7 Ivan Ljubicic. Against Nalbandian, he rallied from two sets down and then twice from service breaks in the fifth set.
"I just didn't think — I was in my own world," said Baghdatis, who lost to Federer in the fourth round last year at the Australian Open.
Nalbandian, who said he had abdominal muscle pain that affected his serve, was left almost speechless by the loss.
"I got a lot of chances to win the match," he said. "I can't understand how I missed that opportunity."
Melbourne has embraced Baghdatis, whose idiosyncratic between-the-legs ball bounce before each serve and wide, uncontrolled grins have endeared him to fans. And Australia's southern port city has one of the highest concentrations of Greeks of any city outside Athens.
Baghdatis got slow claps, fast claps, loud chants and piercing whistles from sections of people in blue soccer jerseys waving Greek and Cypriot flags. A dozen bare-chested young men, with shirts slung over their shoulders and scarves around their heads, linked arms and danced, singing in Greek: "Lift up the cup ... win in Melbourne o-e, o-e."
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060126/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open
He's done really well to get to the final and if he wins it there's gonna be another big party in Melbourne. It's a big ask, but anything is possible.
GO MARCOS!!!
The top-ranked Swiss went from Australian Open front-runner to overwhelming favorite when his closest contender, fourth-seeded David Nalbandian, lost Thursday to Marcos Baghdatis, the exciteable 20-year-old from Cyprus.
As if Federer's road weren't already easy enough: Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Marat Safin didn't show up because of injuries, and Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt lost in the early rounds.
If Federer defeats 21st-seeded Nicolas Kiefer of Germany in Friday's other semifinal, he'll face Baghdatis, a former junior world champion, in Sunday's championship match.
Baghdatis rallied to oust Nalbandian, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, winning 17 of the last 21 points and enduring a break for a late storm when he was three points from winning.
"Everything is first time here: getting to the quarters was the first time, getting to the semis was the first time, getting to the final — I hope it continues," said Baghdatis, who had many Australians of Greek heritage, all dressed in blue, chanting for him inside Rod Laver Arena.
Nalbandian, the Masters Cup champion and 2002 Wimbledon finalist from Argentina, is the last man — and one of only four in 2005 — to beat Federer.
Baghdatis aims to be the next.
"I believe it, my coach believe it, the guys I work with believe, my parents believe it," said Baghdatis, ranked 54th. "I have worked for that ... I'm very proud of myself ... it's been amazing."
Baghdatis produced some stunning shots — chasing into the corners, stepping into serves and racing to the net to hit 52 winners and only 41 errors. Nalbandian had four fewer winners and 15 more unforced errors.
Baghdatis' winning streak includes victories here over No. 2 Roddick and No. 7 Ivan Ljubicic. Against Nalbandian, he rallied from two sets down and then twice from service breaks in the fifth set.
"I just didn't think — I was in my own world," said Baghdatis, who lost to Federer in the fourth round last year at the Australian Open.
Nalbandian, who said he had abdominal muscle pain that affected his serve, was left almost speechless by the loss.
"I got a lot of chances to win the match," he said. "I can't understand how I missed that opportunity."
Melbourne has embraced Baghdatis, whose idiosyncratic between-the-legs ball bounce before each serve and wide, uncontrolled grins have endeared him to fans. And Australia's southern port city has one of the highest concentrations of Greeks of any city outside Athens.
Baghdatis got slow claps, fast claps, loud chants and piercing whistles from sections of people in blue soccer jerseys waving Greek and Cypriot flags. A dozen bare-chested young men, with shirts slung over their shoulders and scarves around their heads, linked arms and danced, singing in Greek: "Lift up the cup ... win in Melbourne o-e, o-e."
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060126/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open
He's done really well to get to the final and if he wins it there's gonna be another big party in Melbourne. It's a big ask, but anything is possible.
GO MARCOS!!!