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Post by choupi on Feb 11, 2010 2:53:59 GMT -5
There's been some pb on the board and this section with news has been removed. Sorry about that. But here's a brand new one!
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Post by getta on Feb 11, 2010 5:21:55 GMT -5
never mind, Choupi. more and more news pop up as Marcos is gearing up for his career peak.
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Post by getta on Feb 11, 2010 5:27:58 GMT -5
gulfnews.com/sport/tennis/back-in-the-chase-1.581000Back in the chaseCypriot star Baghdatis returns to Dubai and tells XPRESS he is aiming to get back into the top 10 after an injury-ravaged 2009By Jaydip Sengupta, Sports Writer Published: 00:00 February 11, 2010 Baghdatis stretches for a backhand during his match against Hewitt at the Australian Open Image Credit: APDubai : From being an unseeded player who was just two sets away from winning the Australian Open title in 2006, it's been quite a downswing in fortunes since for Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. A darling of the crowd wherever he plays because of his colourful persona, the 24-year-old seemed to have got his career back on the rails with victory in Sydney ahead of the Australian Open. And although a right shoulder injury forced him to withdraw in the third round against Lleyton Hewitt, Baghdatis told XPRESS he's ready for the ATP World Tour 500 event in Dubai and a lot more. "My shoulder is fine now. I had an MRI after the Australian Open and didn't show any serious injury, so I have had some treatment and it feels good now. "So I am looking forward to playing in Dubai," he said. "I love coming to Dubai. The people are so friendly and the tennis club is great, and everyone treats you really, really well. "I am looking forward to coming back this year." Reviewing what has so far been a short but eventful career, Baghdatis believes he has it in him to win a Grand Slam. "I made the final of the Australian Open when I was only 20, which was quite young. But after that I had a few injuries and missed some time on the ATP World Tour, so I haven't been able to play as much as I would have liked, but now I am healthy again and playing matches, and I think that I can win a Grand Slam. I certainly don't think that I am too old, Rafa is only 23 and Andy Murray is only 22, so I am not that much older than them. As I said, if I can stay fit and play well, then I think I can win a Grand Slam title." So, how has he managed to cope with the spate of injuries? "The last couple of years have been really tough for me. I had a problem with my wrist and then with my back and it meant that I couldn't play a lot of matches. So my ranking dropped quite a lot. "It was very frustrating for me not to be able to play and I missed it a lot. But I managed to get healthy and play some challengers and I had some good wins there before playing in Sweden and winning the title there," said the man once ranked as high as No 8 in the world. Currently on the ascent again at No 34 after falling to an alarming 98, Baghdatis believes he can make it back into the top 10. "Winning Sydney this year gave me a lot of confidence, plus I was playing really well at the Australian Open before I had to retire. "I had a good win over David Ferrer who is a top player and that also gave me a lot of confidence. It also tells me that I am able to compete with the best players, so you never know. I would like to come back to the top 10, it was a good feeling when I was there, so hopefully I can make it back there with some good results this year," he said. Career highsThe year 2006 was the best in Baghdatis' career as he made the Australian Open final and the semi-final at Wimbledon He is a junior Grand Slam champion, having won the Australian Open in 2003 Baghdatis has won four titles on the ATP World Tour
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Post by getta on Feb 11, 2010 11:53:22 GMT -5
tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2009/10/the-soulful-goof.htmlThe Soulful Goof10/21/2009 - 4:42 PM STEVE TIGNOR The cavernous echo when ball meets string, the single camera angle from somewhere deep in the rafters, the overarching darkness, the elongated court that looks like it’s in the middle of a wind tunnel and seems to play like it’s made of ice: You know you’re a hardened tennis junkie if you’re watching Stockholm online at work this week. Still, I had my reasons. Or I had one reason, anyway. It was to get a look, even if only from a distance, at a former favorite player of mine who has just resurfaced at the barren and frozen edges of the pro tour. Marcos Baghdatis, former Aussie Open finalist, Wimbledon semifinalist, foil for Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open, and a man who was described in a London tabloid as “looking more like an extra from My Big Fat Greek Wedding than a serious tennis player,” had dropped all the way to No. 151 in July. Years of injuries, dubious training habits, and the rise of a more persistent and ambitious group of young players had forced the Cypriot far from game’s big stages and screens. But after three titles in recent Challenger events, he’s back in the Top 70 (Kind of a meteoric rise just from winning Challengers, right? But never mind, we'll take it). Based on his three-set loss to Rafael Nadal two weeks ago in Beijing, and his straight-set win over No. 3 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero today, Baghdatis' game is edging back into form along with his ranking. Since this is Baghdatis, we need a “to be sure” caveat about now. And it’s true, he beat no one of note in those Challengers, and Ferrero has lost in the first round of this tournament three straight years. But whichever Baghdatis shows up next—he plays Robert Kendrick, a match you would think he would win—it was nice to see his familiar, unassuming style and spic-and-span ball striking again. Baghdatis didn’t look much different, at least from the view in the rafters. He’s still doughy, low-to-the-ground, and surprisingly mobile. He still bounces the ball between his legs and flips his hair around between points. He can still absorb pace and send it back with a perfectly timed laser from either side. And he can still hit a killer approach shot, follow it up by stoning an easy overhead into the net, and then kick the ball up and play a little keepy-uppy to the fans' delight. On this day, though, Baghdatis didn’t make many mistakes. He moved up to short balls well and caught them high and early—never a specialty—and by the end of the first set he was hauling off and hitting blatant crosscourt backhand winners on the run. I like the guy’s personality—is there any tennis fan who just can’t stand Marcos Baghdatis? (yeah, probably, now that I mention it)—but it’s his timing I miss the most. I watched Baghdatis play Novak Djokovic from the first row at the Italian Open two years ago. It was a fairly ugly match that was lost by Baghdatis, who seemed to be in a despairing mood, more than it was won by Djokovic. But from that vantage point, you could fully appreciate, get a feel for, the guy’s aptitude for hitting a tennis ball. By comparison, Djokovic’s strokes, which are viciously elegant in their own right, looked labored—the Serb didn’t connect as purely and compactly with the ball. Baghdatis’ shots had a different sound; there was an easy full power to them, like a well-struck drive in golf. Of course, Baghdatis lost the match. That was in part because he wasn’t as determined or confident a competitor as Djokovic was in those days, back when the Serb was still talking about becoming No. 1. But it was also because Baghdatis didn’t have the variety of shot of his opponent. I’m not just talking about using slice or taking pace off the ball; I’m talking about basic things like trajectory. Baghdatis does one thing so well—hit low line drives—that he rarely tries to do anything else. That can work against him. If his opponent likes pace, he’s going to get plenty of it from Baghdatis. If his opponent finds a groove, Baghdatis is going to have to outhit him, rather than give him different looks. And when his shots clear the net, especially on his backhand side, they clear it by inches and nothing more. The top of the men’s game is rich with talent and personality right now. But there’s room for a Baghdatis, a warm and likeable showman, a goof, a guy who isn’t going to make the semis of every Slam, but when he wins, it’s going to be fun watching him do it—a guy who is worth checking out simply to see him make contact with a tennis ball. As Juan Martin del Potro showed at the U.S. Open, the men’s game can use someone else with the skills to surprise one of the Top 4. As I said, in Rome in 2007 Baghdatis was uncharacteristically despairing, almost Safin-like in his readiness to think the worst of his game. As the match wound down and fans started to head for the exits—in the middle of points, Roman-style—a ball boy tossed a ball to Baghdatis after he’d missed an easy shot. He slammed it, unthinkingly, right back in the kid’s direction, just missing him. The kid ran after it, picked it up, and tossed it again. Baghdatis, whose face had gone from despair to outright sadness, let it go by. Then he walked over and put his hand on the boy’s face and pulled him in for a hug. Plenty of pros have slammed balls around tennis courts, but few have given out hugs to ball kids. Call it one more reason to wish for his return. Baghdatis may be a goof, but he’s a goof with soul. ===================================================== Choupi, I posted this article once again. Hope you don't mind. It's relatively fresh, after all.
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Post by getta on Feb 11, 2010 12:28:15 GMT -5
www.abc.net.au/news/audio/2010/01/17/2794061.htmMarcos gave an interview to ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) just after his win over Richard Gasquet in Sydney final. (Sunday 17 January, 2010) Well, not only the transcript isn’t accessible , but also the link expires on April 17… So, this is a rush transcript provided by me for this site, hope I haven’t missed any key words, oh well… ======================================================= Q.: Marcos, congratulations. You’re emotional after the winning of the match. It obviously means something to you, even it is in the week before the Australian Open, an even bigger tournament. You’d collapsed on the court to know it has a lot of meaning for you. Marcos: It had a lot of meaning, I mean as a tournament. It’s a long time I’m fighting to get back to my level and especially also is my brother’s birthday today. So, I’m very happy I won this tournament, it’s a special day for him, for me, and we both had some rough time these last two years, and, you know, it’s nice to be back and win tournament having your family around you and feeling the love. Q.: The match tonight, you did start extremely well, then the ___ time just after you won the first set did you find that looking frustrating? Marcos: yes, it was a bit, not frustrating, but I lost a bit of momentum, you know, I was down 5-2 in the second, I lost of momentum but again I showed character and came back and it’s… I like the way I was on court positive and like I said, showed character and fought back, and that’s very important. I felt really good in the game of 5-3 to break Richard and it’s a great feeling. Q.: In the 4-2 in the second set, you did seem really to be talking to yourself to step up to next level and you missed maybe a ____ of changes in that game, he served to 5-2 and then you really ___ and… Marcos: Yes, it’s true, you know… and to have character you have to build and you have to push yourself, you have to be positive and try to play every point. That’s what I try to do, I try to push myself and basically I did quite well and like you see I won the match and that’s the most important thing. Q.: Quite ___ finish but feeling OK you got a Tuesday start at the Australian Open, so you’ve got time to recover. Marcos: Yeah, for sure, I have two days in front of me, I’m flying tomorrow to Melbourne, having a hit there at Melbourne Park and it’s five matches this week, you know, feeling pretty fit, pretty physically ready for the Open. Now, it’s a matter of time, I mean to win some matches there… and if I win my first two rounds, you know, and then start feeling confident again, I can be really dangerous, so I’m looking forward to my next match and I think I have to stay concentrated and try to win every match I’m playing. Q.: You had a great run in 2006. can you compare the form at all? Marcos: Nah,… I’m more mature now. I can say in everything more fit and, you know, maybe tennis-wise not there yet, but I think, I’m not looking to find that form… I’m looking to find a better form, I’m looking to play good tennis, I’m looking to win matches, and that’s my objective. Not to find the form of 2006. Q.: ___ You gonna give some of ___ to the devastation in Haiti. That’s something that touched you? Marcos: yeah, for sure. I do, you know, it’s not really nice to see these things in the world happening and, you know, it’s just a small way to help, I know it’s not a big one, but you know, I just donated some money and that’s a way to help. Q.: ___ and your fans came in number again to give you great support. Do you enjoy ___ ? Marcos: For sure, I was enjoying playing in front of this crowd and it was like having tournaments at home and it doesn’t happen to me everyday (laughter…), you know, it’s great to come back every year in Australia and not only the Cypriot and Greek fans and also the Australian fans are really nice and showing me love and they love the sports and when you play in front of people that love the sports it’s great emotions and great fun. Q.: Marcos, good luck in Melbourne. Marcos: Thank you very much, thank you.
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Post by getta on Feb 11, 2010 13:08:45 GMT -5
www.tennis-brain.com/2010/01/australian-open-day-4-blog.htmlFriday, January 22, 2010 Australian Open Day 4 BlogKRYSTLE LEE I don’t know whether I am more of a follower this year than last, but it feels like the stands are more packed than they were back then. I get a little tired of watching matches in Hisense Arena sometimes, because it’s lacking in involvement. Isn’t that the reason why we turn up to tennis matches to experience it in a way that the relationship between the TV and your sofa seat cannot offer you? But as much as I wandered around the grounds, I always found myself going back to Hisense Arena today because of the limited options available. Though I had always planned to watch the match between David Ferrer and Marcos Baghdatis, which was surely the most promising match on paper. In the past, I never really had much of an interest in Baghdatis because any media on him was always overly focused on his personality and big smile, and I didn’t find him to stand out in terms of shotmaking either, at least not like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga so clearly does. But I am slowly starting to see it more in his game, although only when he is playing well like he did for most of the first set. Baghdatis was clearly the better player out of the two, manufacturing five break point opportunities for himself but without being able to convert. The majority of good tennis players are great at changing directions and moving the ball from side to side. But what I like about Baghdatis is that he doesn’t follow this side to side rule as strictly, and he doesn’t stick to crosscourt shots either. He’s one of the few players that can consistently construct points that are completely unexpected, and maybe aside from the tactical side of things, he has great disguise too especially on the backhand. There aren’t that many people that wrong foot their opponents as often as he does. He can also hold his shots longer and create subtle changes of pace. As I was watching the first set, I was wondering whether this is how Ferrer’s forehand looks typically live. Because it looks underwhelming and fails to stands out, regardless of how hard I look at it. Baghdatis doesn’t look like he has any problem with it, and it’s almost as if he has three or four more options than Ferrer does whenever he hits a shot from the baseline. But despite showing the more promising tennis, Ferrer puts together a consistent return game filled with deep shots and conjures up an unexpected break to take the set. It turns out I was wrong about Ferrer’s forehand because he has now started hitting it much better in the second set. Flatter, harder and deeper now and it is easy to see the impact that it has on Baghdatis’ game, now unable to implement as many changes of directions. On TV, you get a better sense of the athleticism and rotation that Ferrer throws into his forehand, but live from this far away it doesn’t look as powerful. What I could see was that he was starting to dictate the points more and hitting with great accuracy. Ferrer was also surprisingly adventurous often coming into finish points off at the net. Ferrer’s speed around the court was particularly impressive, and maybe it was more noticeable because of the overly excessive dropshots and drop volleys that Baghdatis threw in. Most of the dropshot retrievals weren’t unexpected, but there were a couple which surprised everyone. I can’t recall the crowd clapping so many times expecting that a point was over only to find Ferrer scampering to it and hitting a winning shot from it. Ferrer had a break in the third set and it looked to be nearly over. This is when Ferrer started to play his worst tennis of the match, throwing away so many unforced errors, it was difficult to believe. The second half of the match from the third set onwards, however, marked a slight change in the patterns of play. Baghdatis had now decided to hang in longer in the rallies and raise the percentages of his shot selection. It wasn’t as exciting to watch, it must be said. Instead, it turned into an intense affair of difficult rallies every point, with long competitive games becoming more regular. It was a brave move indeed trying to beat Ferrer at his own game (to some extent) but of course, Baghdatis could still call on one of his extra tricks if he needed them, but he’d use them more sparingly. Actually it was impressive for me to see Baghdatis grind away like this, given that he was down two sets to love and there was surely less immediate reward in doing so. I thought physically, he held on well so it seemed out of the blue to me when he started cramping in the final game. Ferrer seemed to back off somewhat towards the end with not as many net approaches and too many errors crept into the fifth set for him to stand any chance. ========================================================== Choupi, I posted this article once again. Hope you don't mind.
What would have looked totally unacceptable is not having here a Krystle's report on one of Marcos' matches.
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Post by choupi on Feb 12, 2010 10:22:28 GMT -5
No pb Getta, keep on providing good infos
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Post by getta on Feb 15, 2010 21:53:04 GMT -5
this short audio interview was recorded just after Marcos’ win over Daniel Brands in Marseille on February 15th. i don’t know when the link is gonna expire. but, it will definitely become inactive by Marseille’s next edition in 2011 at the latest.so i gave it a shot, and must admit i really enjoyed to be able to provide the transcript for this site. ================================================================== www.open13.fr/interviews.html“La France est toujours dans mon coeur”“France is always in my heart”Marseille, February 15, 2010Marcos: It’s a good win, it’s not easy to play against a guy you don’t know. Especially a big guy who serves well and goes a bit for everything. So it’s not easy to get with him. I’m happy I won today. I served very big today. That’s a very positive thing and I was tough in the mind, so another good thing. And my game, I mean in practice, I feel great. I didn’t show it out on the court today because of my opponent, it was difficult to show it, but you know, the important thing is I won and also I’ll try to show it in the next match. Q.: It’s a good place here. You like it here, you know. Marcos: It’s a very good place. The people are very nice, the hotel is great, the facilities, it’s great. So it is nice to come back and feel a bit good here. Q.: You won a challenger not far from here in the summer, last summer which was the beginning of the comeback? Marcos: Yes, I won a challenger not far from here, you know, France is always in my heart. I’ve been in France, I lived in France for ten years. So I speak the language, I know a lot of people from France, my family, have some family friends here. So it’s always good to come back and, you know, enjoy the time and feel good. Q.: You won the tournament in Stockholm at the end of last year, you won Sydney at the beginning of this year, you’ve been good at the Australian Open, although you had a tough match. But it seems you’re really coming back to your top level. Tennis needs guys like you. We’ll be happy to have you. How do you feel? Marcos: Thanks for the nice words. And, yeah, I’m happy I’m back too. You know, it’s been a long time. Two years is a lot of time, you know, with injuries, with everything. I had two years not winning a tournament, you know, and when I won Stockholm it was great and even having the win in Sydney also confronts (?) things. So it’s even better, you know, I was very happy. And, you know, I’m feeling healthy, I’m feeling good. So the important thing is that I’m healthy, and if I’m healthy I play great tennis, and if I play great tennis I think I can go really far. So, I hope I’ll stay healthy to be good to play tennis. Q.: We will sit back and watch you then. Marcos: Thank you. Journalist: Thank you.
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Post by getta on Feb 22, 2010 11:03:19 GMT -5
www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/8309.html?CMP=OTC-RSSBaghdatis on song in Dubai ESPN staff February 22, 2010Marcos Baghdatis moved through to the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 7-6 6-4 victory over eighth seed Gilles Simon. The world No. 37, who won the Sydney International in January, triumphed in the tie-break after a tense opening set and carried the momentum over into the second set, where he raced to a 3-0 lead. However, just as it looked like Baghdatis was cruising to an easy victory, the Frenchman dug deep and won three straight matches to level the scores in the second set. Baghdatis secured the crucial break to go 5-4 up and serve for the set, and will now face either Switzerland's Marco Chiudinelli or Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman in the next round.
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Post by getta on Feb 22, 2010 11:33:00 GMT -5
uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE61L1SV20100222Stricken Baghdatis beats Simon in DubaiMon Feb 22, 2010 3:55pm GMT By Matt Smith DUBAI, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Food poisoning could not stop Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis from defeating eighth seed Gilles Simon 7-6 6-4 in the first round of the Dubai tennis championships on Monday. "I was concentrating on not throwing up on court," the 24-year-old said. "I was suffering from food poisoning and had cramps in my stomach."After the first nine games went with serve, the stricken former Australian Open runner-up left the court at 4-5 down, with the score at 40-15, before returning to serve out the game and then immediately break the Frenchman, who was struggling with a chest injury. Simon responded, breaking back to force a tie-break, but the world number 18 hit a series of unforced errors and allowed Baghdatis to take it 7-3. At 4-5 in the second set, Simon saved a match point with a delicate drop shot but Baghdatis was not to be denied as his opponent hit a wide forehand to gift the world number 37 the match. "I had many opportunities but every time I was close I just did too many mistakes," said Simon. "The last game he didn't have to do anything, (I) just did four mistakes." Baghdatis will face either Italy's Marco Chiudinelli or qualifier Somdev Devvarman of India in Wednesday's second round.
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Post by getta on Feb 22, 2010 13:59:45 GMT -5
gulfnews.com/sport/tennis/djokovic-cruises-to-victory-1.587178Clinical approachBy Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter Published: 00:00 February 23, 2010Baghdatis was another big winner of the evening when he stopped the return of eighth-seeded Gilles Simon 7-6 (3), 6-4 on centre court. Suffering from severe cramping due to food poisoning, the Cypriot broke Simon in the 11th game for a 6-5 lead. But he was broken right back to push the set into a tie-break that he went on to win 7-3. In the second he was more clinical with his approach and went on to finish set and match in an hour and 42 minutes to advance to a second round meeting either against Marco Chiudinelli or Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman, who will be on court later today. "The only thing I can say I fought through all that's all. I tried to stay in the match and that's what I did," Baghdatis said. "I want to see the doctor first. I am happy I am not playing tomorrow (Tuesday), so I will have the day off. I cannot say much. If I am not fit then I can lose to anybody," the Cypriot added.
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Post by getta on Feb 23, 2010 0:24:14 GMT -5
Marcos’ team1. Eduardo Infantino he’s Marcos’ coach... no amount of words could help... 2. Horacio AnselmiProfessor Horacio Anselmi is Marcos’ fitness trainer. Horacio is currently Boca Juniors’ athletics director. he will accompany Marcos to the big tournaments only. Horacio’s detailed Curriculum Vitae (in Spanish): www.sobreentrenamiento.com/PubliCE/Autores.asp?idautor=38&idcatart=13&ncatart=Deportes&idart=51&tp=shmmm, can’t find Horacio’s studies there, so i googled him and found them elsewhere: www.santacruz.gov.ar/deportes/index.php?opcion=ampliar&&id=764Estudios realizados: Pregrado Licenciatura en alto rendimiento deportivo. Posgrado Entrenador de Fuerza y acondicionamiento físico. Centros de docente Universidad Nacional de las Lomas. Instituto Argentino de Deporte. Eduardo Infantino introduced Horacio Anselmi to Marcos. 3. Juan Francisco Spina Juan Francisco Spina (aka Pancho) apart from being one of Marcos’ closest friends, he’s also his sparring partner. Pancho is 24-year-old. Pancho playing the first round of qualies of São Paulo challenger (against Paulo Camargo). (Parque Villa Lobos, São Paulo, Brazil, December 2007) Pancho won 6-3 6-4.last but not least, Marcos’ new manager of course: 4. Michael McBridehis input and advice is invaluable. he, for instance, advised Marcos to skip the two Korean challengers last year, and instead to accept the invitation to play Stockholm… he also recently advised Marcos to swap Kooyong for Sydney… so, while Eduardo, Horacio and Pancho help Marcos and teach him how to think, plan and train, Michael, on the other hand, teaches Marcos with caution how to hit the target. hehe, mighty group, this quintet is.
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Post by getta on Feb 23, 2010 10:36:12 GMT -5
www.barclaysdubaitennischampionships.com/News/Interview-Transcripts/Interview-Transcripts.aspx22 February 2010M. BAGHDATIS/G. Simon 7-6, 6-4 An interview with: MARCOS BAGHDATISQ. Can you tell us about your game? How do you think it went?MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I cannot say much, you know. And the only thing I can say I fought through and that's all. I didn't feel too much. Also concentrating on, you know, not throwing up on the court or some points. You know, I served pretty okay, I think. I served pretty big on the important points. And Gilles, you could see he was out for a long time. He needs some matches, some confidence. He was making a lot of unforced errors, giving me three points so I took them basically. In the tiebreak, he gave me the tiebreak basically. He made unforced errors, so I took them. I tried to stay in the match and that's what I did. And I won the match. Q. What is it? Have you checked it? Is it food poisoning?MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I think it is, yeah. It is food poisoning. I have cramps in the stomach, and I'll go see a doctor and maybe we'll see what's going to happen. Q. You're one of the personalities who sort of gets involved with the crowd. Do you think the game or the sport needs more people like you? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't know. Everybody has his own, you know, his own character. His own way of being on the court, off court, you know. And it's a matter of personalities. Sports needs a lot of different personalities. It's always nice to have different personalities, and I think that's important. Q. How do you describe your personality?MARCOS BAGHDATIS: You know, it's not up to me to describe my personality, no. I'm just the person who I am. That's the way I grew up. That's the way I'm on court, off court. I'm a happy person and that's all. Q. So you try to pass on this happiness?MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, I'm not trying to do anything. Like I said, I'm just myself on court, off court. That's all. Q. So how do you see your chances now after winning the first match, because it was a very tough day the first match?MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't know, you know. We'll see the doctors first of all. See how things are going, you know. I'm happy I'm not playing tomorrow. Maybe I'll play on Thursday. I don't know. I'll see. But, no, no way? So Wednesday I'll play. So I'll have a day off. I'll see how my stomach goes, see how I feel. And I cannot say much, you know. Maybe I beat Gilles today, but if I'm not fit, I can lose to anybody. Q. 5-4, 40-15, you took that break. Was it specifically for that?MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Sorry? Q. When you took the break?MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, it just felt that I needed to go to the toilet at that moment. So I couldn't hold it any longer, you know, so...
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Post by getta on Feb 24, 2010 0:39:52 GMT -5
i was genuinely curious to see how the Gillou’s defeat was presented in L’Equipe…
so, this is my own translation from French into English. ====================================================================== www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2010/20100222_143652_simon-chute-d-entree.html22/02/2010It's still way too hard for SimonGilles Simon, who was playing only his second match since the beginning of the year, could not withstand the stress against Marcos Baghdatis on Monday in the first round of Dubai Open (7-6 [4], 6-4). The Frenchman, who is recovering from a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the Australian Open last month, lacked in pace against the Cypriot, ranked 37th in the world and winner of the tournament in Sydney at the beginning of the year. Simon, runner-up in 2009, is therefore going to lose ranking points. Fighting tooth and nail in the first set, Simon could not take advantage of his break points (1/3 converted compared to 1/2 of Baghdatis), the Frenchman from Nice hung around in the second set tying the sore at 4-4 before he let go of hands in his service game. Nevertheless, his game had obviously improved since his last match, his last week’s loss to Olivier Rochus in Marseille. Baghdatis, more solid in the key moments, relied on his strong service performance (62% and serving up 14 aces). In the next round, he will face the winner of the match between Switzerland’s Marco Chiudinelli and India’s Somdev Devvarman.
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Post by getta on Feb 24, 2010 3:34:21 GMT -5
Marcos also gave a very short audio interview just after his first-round win over Gilles Simon, for which no transcript is available. so, this is rush transcript… dunno how i managed to miss again 4-5 words… perhaps it’s true that my head implodes from tiredness… ================================================================ wm.world.mii-streaming.net/media/atp/tournaments/dubai/2010/baghdatis1.mp3Q.: Marcos, toughening job for you ____ (?) Dubai Championships, so you must be pretty pleased with them. Marcos: Yeah, I’m pleased. You know, I’m not pleased that I ____ (?) but, you know, I’m pleased that I won and cannot say much because I don’t know what tomorrow will bring me because of my illness, so I just go to see the doctors now and see how things go. Q.: And you think it’s a food poisoning? Marcos: Yeah, that’s what they say. Yeah. Q.: Obviously that’s a long way to go this week in the event. It’s a tough draw facing ____ (?) Simon in the first round. If you can get better, how far do you think you can go this week? Marcos: I don’t know. I want to see the whole draw and I’m gonna see match per match. I’m not looking at on Sunday. I’m looking at one ____ (?) and for the moment I’m looking on in five minutes to see the doctors.
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