Baghdatis crashes out in Sydney International semis

MARCOS Baghdatis today crashed out of the Sydney International after losing 6-4 6-4 to French journeyman Julien Benneteau in the semi final round.

The 39 year old Benneteau, ranked 49 in the world, won the match in two hours, in which Baghdatis failed to deploy the strong serves and backhand shots that secured his quarter final victory agaisnt Del Potro.

Benneteau now faces Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen, who beat Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 7-6 6-3 in the first semi-final on Friday.

Asked about his performance, Nieminen said he had been overmatched in most of his title games and that his poor record was not a concern.

“It’s not the best, but I haven’t felt like the finals have been a big thing for me,” he said. “At least half of those losses I didn’t have any chances.

“I had Federer twice, a few matches in which I basically got destroyed. I was just simply the second best player of the week. I tried my best. Obviously it hasn’t been enough to win more titles, but hopefully I can take one more tomorrow.”

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