Match report

Marcos Baghdatis © Tennistalk.com
Wimbledon
4th round
6/30/08 1 2 3 4 5 Tot
cy  Marcos Baghdatis 7 2 6 6 4 6 2
es  Feliciano Lopez 5 6 3 7 7 8 3
Feliciano Lopez © Tennistalk.com

  • Endurance man Lopez hits back from the brink

    7/1/08 1:50 AM | David Cox
    It was a match which deserved the majesty of a show court. Instead fans wise enough to head for court 18 were treated to nearly 4 hours of richly entertaining grass court tennis.

    In yesterday's match preview I mentioned that it always takes something special to get rid of Marcos Baghdatis at Wimbledon. It certainly took that, its always special when you win after saving match points and this will be a victory Feliciano Lopez treasures for a very long time, he came from two sets to love down 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 8-6.

    Apart from his week in Dubai earlier in the year, its been a while since Lopez has produced tennis like that and it brought back memories of his run here back in 2005.

    Lopez initially fell behind very much against the run of play. Baghdatis did not look comfortable at all in the first set, struggling to get to grips with his opponent's swinging serve. However a couple of sloppy errors at 5-6 gave Baghdatis a glimmer of a chance and for a top 10 player that's all it takes. He pounced with a sizzling winner down the line to wrap it up

    This got Lopez going and determined to right the injustice he dominated set 2. Baghdatis was a helpless spectator at times as Lopez unleashed his streaky but often brilliant forehand.

    Momentum swung once more in set 3. This time it was Baghdatis who got the early break and with Lopez's radar starting to become a little awry (twice as many unforced errors in this set) Baghdatis looked on course for a 3rd successive quarter-final

    But the real drama was yet to come. Having clung on all throughout set 4, Lopez sneaked through the resulting breaker 7-4 and ensure it went the distance to the delight of the crowd

    By now both men were surely running off pure adrenaline but it worked wonders. Serves and groundstrokes found the lines unrelentingly even for the most acute of angles. Baghdatis looked to have finally done enough when he reached 0-40 with Lopez serving at 4-5. Brilliant serving foiled him and at 6-6 it was the turn of the Cypriot to stare down the barrell

    He could not respond and moments later Lopez slumped to his feet in triumph

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