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2/16/08 9:53 AM | Ricky Dimon
It will be the fifth career head-to-head meeting between Marcos Baghdatis and Mario Ancic when the two players do battle in the semifinals of the Open 13. Ancic holds a 3-1 advantage over Baghdatis, but the Cypriot prevailed in their most recent matchup in Beijing, China two seasons ago. Baghdatis dominated that hard-court match 6-4, 6-0 in just one hour and 12 minutes. Ancic, however, took the first three encounters, two of which came on hard courts and the third on grass. One of the matchups was contested two years ago in the first round of this very same Open 13. The 6’5’’ Croat survived that thrilling encounter 6-2, 6-7(11), 6-4. Ancic took the other two contests in straight sets, with one set in each match progressing to a tiebreaker.
While Baghdatis’ performance this week does not come as a huge surprise, he had not exactly been streaking into this event with momentum. The 17th-ranked player in the world lost in the first round of the season-opening event in Doha and then fell to Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of the Australian Open in an epic five-setter that ended after 4:30 in the morning. Baghdatis, however, has clearly turned things around here at the Open 13. He handled Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-4 in the first round before cruising past 6’10’’ Croat Ivo Karlovic with surprising ease 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. The Cypriot then pulled off a minor upset of third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(2), 6-3. Baghdatis has not dropped serve this entire tournament, but his ever-solid return game has been especially outstanding in Marseille. He broke huge-serving Ivo Karlovic twice in a second-round victory and against Youzhny he enjoyed 10 break-point opportunities, two of which he converted.
Ancic, who is down to No. 135 in the world after once being ranked all the way up at No. 7, had not played in 2008 prior to the Open 13 due to nagging shoulder and back injuries. But the Croat has announced his return to the ATP Tour in emphatic fashion through three matches this week. In the first round he stunned seventh-seeded and Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6, 7-6(3) and in the second destroyed qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2. Ancic next took out a fellow injury-plagued player in Robin Soderling. He recovered from a second-set hiccup to win 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2. Ancic fired a whopping 25 aces past the Swede and now has 47 aces through just three matches. He has not been broken once this entire tournament and he has only had to fend off four break points. When his shoulder is healthy, Ancic boasts one of the biggest serves in tennis, and that has been on full display so far in Marseille.
It would be shocking if this semifinal clash does not turn to be extremely competitive. Neither player has lost serve yet this tournament, so fans should expect at least one—if not every—set to be decided by a tiebreaker. As usual, Ancic’s serve will most likely determine the outcome of the match. If he can come up with big serves on the crucial points and fire anywhere close to the 25 aces he had against Soderling, Baghdatis will be in trouble. On the other hand, if Ancic fails to put in a high percentage of first serves, Baghdatis—one of the best returners in tennis—should be able to take advantage of second-serve opportunities.
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Did you know that... Thomas Johansson did not have to face any of the top-10 players when he won the Australian Open in 2002.
kaitepai, Dec 2, 2008 9:14 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 6:28 PM
RickyDimon, Dec 2, 2008 5:57 PM
tennisgirl, Dec 1, 2008 11:48 PM
lendl, Dec 1, 2008 6:17 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:23 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:02 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 7:27 PM
Marcos Baghdatis
Mario Ancic
Open 13
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