Baghdatis secures Davis Cup progression for Cyprus

MARCOS Baghdatis beat Mohamed Safwat Amin 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in front of an emotional crowd inside the Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Centre in Limassol on Sunday to give Cyprus an unassailable 3-1 lead and progression to the second round of the Davis Cup Europe/Africa Group II .

“I am really proud playing in front of such a crowd,” Baghdatis said afterwards. “They were great and I express my thanks to all the people who came out here to support me.

“I think I played very well and I found the solutions required to secure the victory for our team. “It is one of the best moments playing Davis Cup for my country and I also express my gratitude to all the other members of the team,” he added at the post-match press conference.

The Cypriot number one served well throughout the match, with his Egyptian opponent being completely outplayed.

The Cyprus team rushed onto court after the win, while the national anthem was played amid joyous scenes.

Cyprus will now take on Portugal in an attempt to reach the final round of this year’s campaign and battle for promotion to Group I in 2011.

The Portuguese are certainly not an unknown quantity to Cyprus captain Yiannos Hadjigeorgiou and his players, the two countries having faced off in 2008 and 2009.

Last year, Cyprus came out victorious 3-2 in the first round at the National Tennis Centre in Nicosia on a hard court but went down 5-0 in a 2008 quarter-final at the Lawn Tennis Club da Foz in Porto on clay.

“I am really happy that we have secured the victory for our team. We look forward to our next match against Portugal, said Hadjigeorgiou.

“We will sit back now, discuss our opposition with the players and discuss our game plan,” he added.

“I would like to invite all our fans to join us in our effort to reach Group I of the Davis Cup. I assure you that we play and fight for our country and this is what makes this team so special,” he concluded.

In the fifth and final rubber on Sunday,  Sherif Sabry Abdelsamie Hussein defeated Christopher Koutrouzas 6-1, 6-0 to set up the final result of the tie of 3-2 for Cyprus.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.