TENNIS in DEPTH.

Marcos Baghdatis is dreaming of another Australian Open run after ending Juan Martin Del Potro’s Grand Slam return on Thursday. The 2006 runner-up saw off the giant Argentine 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-3 in the final match of the day at Mebourne Park. Cypriot Baghdatis always receives great support from the Greek community in the Victorian captial and they roared him to an impressive victory on the Rod Laver Arena.

Del Potro, playing his first Grand Slam tournament since a serious wrist injury, was unable to cope with the 21st seed in the early stages. Baghdatis’ serve was particularly impressive – he finished with more aces than his big-serving opponent, who had few answers when Baghdatis got his first serve in. The former US Open champion did briefly threaten a fightback when he upped his game in the third set, but Baghdatis regained the initiative in the fourth to set up a last-32 meeting with Jurgen Melzer. Baghdatis told the crowd after his win he had felt the weight of expectation.

“He’s not played many matches and that put a bit of pressure on me, because I was, a bit, the favourite.”

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No. 2 seed Marcos Baghdatis has withdrawn from the Medibank International Sydney today due to a left groin injury. The title holder suffered the injury during a training session at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre over the weekend. “I’m very disappointed as I am the defending champion here,” the Cypriot said. “I have family here and I wanted to play in front of them and it is disappointing, but sometimes you have to take a decision that’s not easy.”

Tournament Director Craig Watson expressed his disappointment at the news. “You never want to lose any player from your draw and when it’s the defending champion, it is even more disappointing,” Watson said. “Marcos was very down when he came to see me and tell me he had injured his groin. He was really looking forward to defending his title in front of his family and friends. “We wish Marcos a speedy recovery in time for the Australian Open and we look forward to being able to welcome him back next year to the Medibank International Sydney.”

Baghdatis’ place in the men’s main draw will be taken by a lucky loser, Poland’s Lukasz Kubot.

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Andy Roddick swept aside Marcos Baghdatis in their Brisbane International quarter-final clash on Thursday. The second-seeded American won 6-2 6-3 in one hour 14 minutes against the fifth-seeded Cypriot. Roddick broke four times as his opponent managed just 39% of first serves.

South Africa’s Kevin Anderson also progressed to the last four with a 2-6 6-3 6-4 win over Colombian Santiago Giraldo. Top seed Robin Soderling saw off Michael Berrer in their second-round match. The Swede was a 6-3 7-6 (9/7) winner over his German opponent in one hour 35 minutes. Eighth seed Denis Istomin went out, though, as Australia’s Matthew Ebden claimed a 6-4 6-4 win.

In the women’s tournament, fourth seed Marion Bartoli made short work of Barbora Zahlavova Strycova to reach the semi-finals. The Frenchwoman broke six times on her way to a 6-2 6-1 win over the Czech in just under 90 minutes. Fifth-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova joined Bartoli in the last four thanks to a 6-2 6-7 (4/7) 6-3 victory over Lucie Safarova, while Czech Petra Kvitova also made it through with a 6-0 6-4 success over Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

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Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis will get an early indication of his form leading into the Australian Open when he meets second seed Andy Roddick in the quarter final of the Brisbane International on Thursday night. Baghdatis booked a date with Roddick after crushing Poland’s Lukasz Kubot 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour on Pat Rafter Arena on Wednesday night.

The win catapults the 25-year-old into yet another quarter final and he has continued on from his solid 2010 season. He made the quarter final or better in 11 tournaments last year and was the only player to beat Raphael Nadal and Roger Federer while they were No.1 during the season.

Baghdatis said getting the opportunity to play highly ranked players in Australian Open lead-up tournaments was the perfect preparation for the year’s opening Grand Slam event. “It’s nice to play guys like Andy – top 10 players,” Baghdatis told reporters. “It’s a test match before the Australian Open and it will be a great match. “It’s nice to get out there and see my negative things, positive things all the things I need to work on. “It’s a good test tomorrow because it’s Andy Roddick and he’s going to push me to the limits.”

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Marcos Baghdatis will meet Viktor Troicki in the final of Kremlin Cup on Sunday after both men secured semi-final wins in Moscow. Fourth-seeded Cypriot Baghdatis was made to work hard for his shot at the title, taken to three sets by Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin but eventually prevailing 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 7-6 (7/2). Serbian Troicki had a more straightforward path to the final in the first last-four encounter of the day, seeing off Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-3. “It was a good match for me,” said Troicki. “The match point was one of the best points of the tournament. “I tried to be aggressive and make him run a lot and I was successful. My form is getting better and better.”

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Sergiy Stakhovsky, the No. 9 seed, did double duty Thursday at Pilot Pen Tennis to book his place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament.

“I would say we were both tired,” said Stakhovsky. “It was really an exhausting match, not only physically. I would say that if I would be more fit today, I would more or less be more nervous because some of the shots that Marcos did today was out of another league.”

After rain curtailed play Wednesday night in New Haven, Stakhovsky resumed his third-round match against sixth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo in a first set tie-break on Thursday morning and closed out a 7-6(5), 6-2 win. He then followed with a battling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(4) victory over top-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.

The men’s semifinals will feature some up and coming talent of the ATP World Tour, Thiemo De Bakker, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Denis Istomin.

The 21 year old De Bakker was the number one junior in the world in 2006, winning a Wimbledon junior title that same year. Watch this ‘kid’ move his way into the top ten in 2011, and even cause an upset at the US Open next week.

 He dispatched Evgeny Korolov in the quarter finals 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday and will now play Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.

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Marcos Baghdatis fought back from a poor opening to beat Juan Ignacio Chela and reach the quarter-finals of the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Connecticut.

The Cypriot struggled during the first set against his Argentinian opponent, failing to win a single service game as he lost it 6-1.

But he regrouped to comfortably take the next two sets 6-3 6-2 and claim victory.

Fifth seed Andrey Golubev was the biggest casualty as he was edged out 6-3 3-6 7-6 (9/7) by Russian qualifier Teymuraz Gabashvili.

Golubev was not the only seed to fall with Germany’s eighth seed Florian Mayer also coming off worst in his tie with Dutch 12th seed Thiemo De Bakker, who won 6-7 (2/7) 6-1 7-5.

Sixteenth seed Victor Hanescu exited after losing 7-6 (7/4) 6-7 (4/7) 6-4 to Radek Stepanek. Seventh seed Alexandr Dolgopolov was defeated by 10th seed Viktor Troicki having seen off American wild card James Blake in a held-over second-round match earlier in the day.

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Roger Federer ensured he would remain the world’s second ranked player heading into the US Open after reaching the final of the Cincinnati Masters with a straight-sets win over Marcos Baghdatis.

The Swiss hardly raised a sweat as he cast aside the unseeded Cypriot, who beat world number one Rafael Nadal in the previous round, 6-4 6-3 in just over and hour.

Federer needed to reach Sunday’s final to keep a hold of the number two ranking and will fancy his chances of going on to claim to title with wild card entrant Mardy Fish lying in wait.

Fish won through with a 4-6 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 win over compatriot and ninth seed Andy Roddick.

Roddick had looked on course for an easy win after he won the opening set and led 5-2 in the second before the players were forced off for the second time due to rain.

But when they returned Fish was a different player as he forced the second set to a tie-break, which he won before running away with the match.

Victory for Fish also provided the world number 36 with some measure of revenge after Roddick had beaten him in the final of the same tournament in 2003, when Fish squandered match points.

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