Birthday boy Baghdatis beaten yet again

By Nemanja Bjedov

MARCOS Baghdatis did not enjoy a happy birthday on Monday after suffering his eighth consecutive first round exit since reaching the quarter-finals in Rotterdam in February.

The sixth-seeded Cypriot, who turned 28 yesterday, lost in straight sets to Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-2, 6-4 in the opening round of the ATP World Tour 250 Topshelf Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in Holland, and has now not won a singles match on clay or grass courts this season after last week’s opening round exit Hall.

Berloq needed a total of one hour and 20 minutes, in a match that was interrupted by rain delays, to eliminate the world number 40 Cypriot after breaking his serve twice in the first set and another time in the second set.

The Argentine will now take on the winner of the match between Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and Stephane Bohli of Switzerland, while Baghdatis has a lot of work to do with his coach, Croatian Zeljko Krajan, if he wants to avoid a similar fate at Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.

Last year, Baghdatis reached the third round at the All-England Club where he lost to eventual finalist Andy Murray in four sets.

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.