Re: Wimbeldon
Great news from Wimbledon “Lleyton Hewitt is out” 
Mama’s Boy Baghdatis on a Roll
It is hard to imagine anyone unsettling the mighty Roger Federer at the Championships but you never can tell.
For some, winning Wimbledon comes as the result of sublime talent (Roger Federer), others devote their every waking moment to the pursuit of excellence (Pete Sampras) while a few just believe that, for two weeks only, their name is written in the stars (Goran Ivanisevic). And then there is Marcos Baghdatis.
Baghdatis – or Baggy to his friends – is, to his own amazement, through to the semi-finals here for the first time in his career after beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
Normally, Baghdatis leaves his parents at home when he plays. His mother, Andry, gets too nervous when she watches number one son but she has broken with family tradition and travelled to London to watch the fun.
It has not been easy viewing at times but when the going gets tough, Mrs B starts praying. Most players rely on their coach for a little extra support when they face a break point – Baghdatis, through his mum, enlists the help of the Almighty. No wonder, then, that he is doing so well.
Just to reinforce the theory that Baggy’s progress is predestined by the fates, his parents live in a little village just outside Limassol called Paramitha. Roughly translated from the Greek, it means fairytale and, for the moment at least, the fairytale is coming true.
Baghdatis is a lovely chap. Smiling, friendly, happy with his lot, he knows how long it took him to get here and how hard he had to work so he is enjoying his time at the top. Life at the bottom, as he was making the transition from the junior ranks to the main tour, was miserable and anything – even losses – has to be better than that.
Growing up in Limassol, it soon became apparent that Baggy’s talent far outstripped the facilities available at home. As a teenager, he was sent to Paris to train at an academy but, much as he adored the family who took him in, he missed his home and he missed his mum.
In particular, he missed his mum’s lasagne which he describes as “the best food in the world”. And Mrs Baghdatis missed her Marcos. He swears that, to this day, Mrs B encourages him to bring his dirty laundry home with him so that she can wash and iron his kit.
“I think when you don’t see your kid for six months then I think you wouldn’t mind,” Baghdatis said of his mother’s devotion to laundry. Spoken like a true boy.
Arriving in France without being able to speak a word of French, Baghdatis had to learn self-sufficiency (and French) if he was to maintain his sanity. Far away from home with no-one to talk to, he soon discovered that if he could cope with the loneliness then anything the tour could throw at him was not going to be nearly so bad.
As a result, he put up with the injury problems that kept holding back his progress when he joined the professional ranks and he bided his time. His patience was finally rewarded as he bounced through the draw at the Australian Open this year to reach the final. He even took a set from Roger Federer when he got there and, cheered on by a huge Greek-Cypriot fan club, he knew he had arrived in the big time.
Even so, not even the most optimistic of souls could have imagined that his next breakthrough would come here. At Wimbledon. On grass. Until this year, he had never won a match on this funny green stuff but now he finds himself in the last four.
Baghdatis did what Baghdatis does best against Hewitt. He was quick, he was fast, he was strong, he was daring. He banged down 19 aces, he feathered countless dropshots; he took the match by the throat and then he let it go as he approached a two set lead; he pounded his chest and he roared himself on and, after just over two and half hours, he had the better of Hewitt. He wore his heart on his sleeve and the crowd loved him for it.
With an ever-growing gang of supporters following his every move, with his mum on the hotline to Him upstairs and with a God-given talent to entertain and surprise, who knows what the last few days of The Championships will bring for Baghdatis.
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/articles/2006-07-05/200607041152015670515.html
Baghdatis seems to be a really nice guy, he is now one of my favourite players:)
Roger Fedrer defeated Ancic 6-4 6-4 6-4
Jonas Bjorkman defeated Stepanek 6-4 7-6 4-6 6-7 7-6
Nadal’s match was postponed because of rain.