THE OLDER brother and cousin of tennis sensation Marcos Baghdatis last night left Cyprus for Melbourne ahead of Sunday’s Australian Open final against world number one Roger Federer.
House President Demetris Christofias had announced on Thursday that President Papadopoulos had telephoned Baghdatis’ family and informed them that the state would undertake all expenses to send them to Melbourne to watch the final.
But the President of the Cyprus Tennis Federation, Philios Christodoulou, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that he had spoken with Baghdatis’ father, Christos, “who has opted to remain on the island and wants to watch the big match from his home in Limassol, as he is superstitious and that’s where he has watched all of his son’s previous six matches. I invited him to come and see the action at the Federation, but he declined.”
His father added that the superstition has rubbed off on his son, who wears the same top and pair of shorts for every match (yes, he washes them after every round). Also, his rackets are always placed in exactly the same order in his bag, as is everything else.
According to sources, his brother, Petros, 27, who has played Davis Cup for Cyprus, and cousin, Phytos Charalambous, took with them presents for Marcos from friends and relatives, including a gold cross from Bishop Athanasios of Limassol.
His brother told state television that, “Marcos will face Federer like he would any other opponent and hopes to bring the trophy back. Whatever happens, though, he will always be a winner in our hearts.”
His mother Androulla explained that she “doesn’t want to put an extra burden on Marcos,” by attending. “He knows that my husband and I are there beside him in spirit, through our prayers. Marcos feels our presence and closeness to him. I would like to thank the government from the bottom of my heart for their offer but after talking it over with Marcos, we decided that such a long trip would be too tiring. It’s like a wonderful dream. We have been waiting for this for years and now the time has come.”
His seven-year-old sister Zena added that, “his opponent is very strong, but will be defeated.”
Christodoulou also gave an insight into Baghdatis’ preparations for Sunday’s final. “Yesterday, all he wanted to do was rest and relax,” he said. He didn’t pick up his racquet at all. Today, he will hit some balls with coach Guillaume Payre, have a massage and try to prepare psychologically.”
And there is even talk that, after years of insisting, the Cypriot government may lift the threat of national service looming over Baghdatis.
“A few years ago Cyprus didn’t understand how good Marcos was because they have no experience with tennis,” said Patrick Mouratoglou, owner of the Paris Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, where Baghdatis has trained since he was 14. “Now, for sure, I think they understand how good he is and how important it is for the country,” he told Australia’s The Age newspaper.
Coach Guillaume Payre agreed. “I think with all the things he is doing for his country, maybe they will leave him alone to play his tennis.”
The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity department, in a letter addressed to the Cyprus National Olympic Committee (NOC), yesterday expressed its warmest congratulations to the Cyprus NOC on the phenomenal results of Baghdatis at the Australian Open, stressing that the results of the investment made by Olympic Solidarity and the Cyprus NOC in young, promising athletes, such as Baghdatis, who was a recipient of the Youth Development Scholarship for three years, were proof that talent could be nurtured in such a way to produce the champions of tomorrow.
Olympic Solidarity expressed its best wishes to Marcos for his future tennis career, in addition to its full support in Sunday’s big final.
According to the viewing statistics, 200,000 people tuned in to his semi-final victory on Thursday.
