Being an islander, Marcos Bagdhdatis is naturally drawn towards the sun, to all things happy and bright. Being a professional athlete, in an era where winning has become paramount, hasn’t always afforded him that luxury. But Baghdatis has refused to lose himself in the game of shadows that modern tennis has become.“If I have to, I am comfortable leaving the game even right now,” says the Cypriot, seated in the café of a luxury hotel in Mumbai.
“That is because of the life I have built for myself outside tennis. I have a base, a family, something I would be happy to spend the rest of my life with,” he says. It is off-season for most but Baghdatis has travelled to India for the Champions Tennis League, giving him an opportunity to train as well as play a few competitive sets, but most of all escape the chill of the European winter.
Even the big eyes or big smile don’t carry a hint of underachievement, as perceived by the rest, on the tennis court. Baghdatis is 30, has bounced around the ranking charts more than the fuzzy yellow ball he’s made a career chasing. His biggest success lies well into the past, almost 10 years ago.
That Australian Open in 2006.
“It’s a feeling that you cannot describe,” says Baghdatis of those Melbourne moments. “Making the quarterfinal, winning the semifinal and then all of a sudden you are in the final of a Grand Slam, playing Roger Federer. I had a great run; I was just 20 years old. So it was something new for me, for my family. For everybody in my team it was something new. I didn’t have experienced people around me to guide me; to achieve that with them was great for all of us. We enjoyed it a lot.”
The massive Greek-Cypriot contingent in Melbourne was out to cheer him. Baghdatis did eventually lose the final 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2. But it was a year tennis saw the full force of Baghdatis and fell in love with the man from Cyprus.
He is unpredictable; he is expressive. He says he craves the connection with the crowd, the energy that comes from them. Maybe that’s why the toughest moment of his career was when he found himself suddenly all alone among 23,000 Americans. In 2006, Andre Agassi was playing his last US Open, pushing the boundaries of excellence at the age of 36. Baghdatis stood across the net from him. The fans usually love Marcos, but right now they only had a voice for Andre.
“I was not playing against Andre only I was playing against 23,000 people in the Arthur Ashe stadium,” he recalls. “It was like a nightmare in there. It was the toughest match I have played in my life, the toughest atmosphere I played in my life.”
Baghdatis lost the second round thriller 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 5–7. The last professional match that Agassi won. “ He was one of my big heroes growing up. For me it was an honor to play against him, an honor to be in his book (autobiography called Open), not an honor to be the last one he beat!”
He had also reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon that year and made it to no 8 in the rankings in August. Then the light in him dimmed.
“I wasn’t ready to handle that kind of success,” he admits. “If you see the results later I wasn’t 100% ready for it.” Sometimes complacent, sometimes compelling, Baghdatis was forever a work in progress. The reason, he says, was in the way he was yanked away from home, in Limassol, to train at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in dank and cold Paris as a 13-year-old.
“I left a lot of people that I loved and had to find a new life. After the Australian Open, the biggest decision-- that was not the best one-- was to go back to Cyprus. I relaxed a bit by doing that, because I missed that. As a teenager leaving your country, your people and not seeing them very often. Once I achieved something I went back and I kind of relaxed. That was a small mistake that took me down, that made me have injuries. I didn’t take care of my body as I should have or as do I now. It’s something that I learnt over the years.”
There have been false dawns for Baghdatis. 2010 brought hope: he was the only player in the year to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal when they were ranked No 1; he was back in the top-20. That didn’t last long either.
“There were moments when I wasn’t happy playing tennis; I wasn’t happy being on the road. I wasn’t myself,” he says. Injuries and indiscipline on court however gave him time to put his personal life in order. He married fellow tennis player, Karolina Sprem of Croatia in 2012 and has a daughter, Zahara, who now commands his attention.
He grew up faster as a person than as a tennis player.
“Maybe I could have had more finals or more ATP tournament wins or more consistent career,” he says.
“I took decisions that were not the best for my tennis; but they were best for me as a person. I felt happy again, I felt happy with myself. I found a way to stabilize my life. Now I have a wife, I have a lovely daughter, which I am grateful for. Maybe if I took that decision (for tennis) I wouldn’t have those things. So it’s a give and take situation. When you achieve something when you are very young, you want to see something different in life, some other emotions. Enjoying life a bit and that’s what I did. I don’t regret it.”
About a year and a half ago, languishing at 155 of the world, Baghdatis had to make the decision about his career. His team, with his wife front and centre, coaxed him back into the game. Fitness became a priority. He had more than just himself to think for.
“In last year and a half or two we decided to train less in tennis and take more care of my body. We have worked a lot in recovering my body in a way to avoid injuries, major injuries. 2015 was a good year,” he points out. “My season was solid, competition wise, I was pretty consistent on the court and I felt pretty good every match I played.” He did not win a title but has worked himself up to 46 in the rankings. A number that is still not an indicator of big ball-striking talent.
“I have a small goal, which is to get into the top 30 by the end of next year. Slowly, slowly play another full year of competition at this level. I need that. You cannot expect to go from 50 to top-10 immediately.”
Does he have a Grand Slam title in him?
“Right now, no,” Baghdatis admits. “I don’t think I am physically at that level. To go deep into a Grand Slam, maybe. I don’t know how long my body, my legs and my mind will hold up, but I think I still have another three years in me. The last year I think will be the best one. For the moment, physically I don’t think I am at that level of (Novak) Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, (Stan) Wawrinka, (Andy) Murray, it’s not just one guy.”
“But if I go into the second week of the Grand Slam, a bit of luck, a bit of magic-- because I think I have still have some magic in my tennis—anything can happen after that,” he says, the dream coming back into focus.
Tennis would be richer if the sunny Cypriot catches that golden light again.
