The European player who made the final of the Australian Open but then never got past round four again

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The Australian Open, dubbed the ‘Happy Slam’, has seen some incredible finals over the years.

Perhaps the greatest tennis match of all time was played at the famous Rod Laver Arena in 2012, when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal delivered a five-hour and 53-minute masterpiece, the longest major final ever.

Nadal’s clash with Roger Federer in the 2017 championship match also marked one of the finest contests the sport has seen in recent memory, with the Swiss maestro ending his nearly five-year Grand Slam drought.

A title bout in Melbourne that doesn’t quite stick in the memory, however, is the 2006 final between Federer and a rising star who had enjoyed an impressive campaign.

Marcos Baghdatis’ Australian Open run in 2006

At 20 years of age in just his sixth appearance at a Grand Slam, Marcos Baghdatis managed to advance all the way to the Australian Open final that year.

The Cypriot, under the wing of Patrick Mouratoglou at the time, had knocked out a number of big names en route to his fourth career meeting with Federer, earning wins over the likes of Andy Roddick, and David Nalbandian.

• First round: Justin Gimelstob
• Second round: Radek Stepanek
• Third round: Denis Gremelmayr
• Fourth round: Andy Roddick
• Quarterfinals: Ivan Ljubicic
• Semifinals: David Nalbandian
• Final: Roger Federer

Baghdatis reached a career high ATP ranking of eighth in the world with his run in 2006, while also becoming the first player ever from Cyprus to reach a major final, but the young star’s campaign down under ultimately ended in defeat to a generational talent.

Federer conceded the first set to Baghdatis in the final, and it looked as if the unseeded player was closing in on a monumental upset.

The then-six-time Grand Slam champion fought back, however, and clinched his seventh after emerging victorious, 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2.

For the rest of 2006, Baghdatis was able to build on his momentum from January, and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, defeating Andy Murray and former champion Lleyton Hewitt, before bowing out to Nadal.

After splitting with Mouratoglou at the end of that year, however, Baghdatis’ career took a turn for the worse.

In 2007 he managed to make the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, which would mark the last time he would ever reach the last eight of a Grand Slam.

Bagdatis’ ranking continued to slip from then on, and, amid injuries, he was ranked outside the top 100 in 2009.

During the 2010 season, Baghdatis did make a return to the top 20, and was beginning to show promising signs once again in 2012, but with more injury setbacks and poor form, he fell back outside the top 100 by 2014.

Baghdatis never reached the dizzy heights he managed in 2006 for the rest of his career, and struggled to compete at the biggest tournaments.

He ultimately retired in 2019, announcing that the Wimbledon championships that year would be his last tournament.

At the All England Club that season, Baghdatis received a wildcard for the event, and lost in the second round to Matteo Berrettini before being cheered off by the fans.

Marcos Baghdatis’ career statistics

Baghdatis tallied a career win-loss record of 349 wins to 274 losses, and collected a prize money total of $8,918,917.

He picked up four ATP singles titles during his time as a professional tennis player, as well as one doubles crown.

In 2006, Baghdatis won his first tour-level title at the China Open, and followed it up with a triumph in Zagreb the year after.

He then won the Stockholm Open in 2009, before winning the last title of his career in Sydney during the 2010 season.