Marcos Baghdatis

Marcos Baghdatis (, ) (born 17 June 1985 in Limassol) is a Cypriot professional tennis player of Greek and Lebanese origin. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships and reached a career-high ATP ranking of 8 in August 2006.

Personal life

Marcos Baghdatis is the son of a Greek Cypriot mother and a Lebanese father, Christos, who migrated to Cyprus.

Baghdatis began playing tennis at age five with his father and brothers. He enjoys playing and watching football, and is a supporter of Apollon Limassol in Cyprus. He trained at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris on an Olympic Solidarity Youth Development Programme Scholarship since the age of 13 and learned to speak French.He attended the Grammar School in Limassol.

On January 28, 2006, Baghdatis received an exemption from the otherwise mandatory Greek Cypriot national service so that he could concentrate instead on playing tennis. Had he not been exempted, he would have been required to serve 26 months in the military, as is required of all Greek Cypriot males upon reaching 18 years of age.

He also received the honor as the 2005 Cyprus Male Athlete of the Year for his accomplishments.

Tennis career

Baghdatis became the ITF World Junior Tennis Champion in 2003 and joined the ATP professional tour later that year.

2004

Baghdatis performed...
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