Marcos Baghdatis has assessed how he would fare on the ATP Tour if he was still playing today.
Baghdatis is the only Cypriot to reach a Grand Slam final, having reached the championship match at the 2006 Australian Open, before losing to Roger Federer.
The 40-year-old played his last professional match in 2019, and now Baghdatis is a part of WTA player Qinwen Zheng’s coaching team.
Baghdatis beat both Federer and Rafael Nadal in his career, and he has now revealed how he thinks he would have competed against the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Marcos Baghdatis thinks he could have ‘disturbed’ the current generation of ATP players
“Yeah, it’s evolving. Science is evolving, everything in the world is evolving. Tennis is more powerful, players are taller, bigger, stronger. It’s for sure different than 15 years ago,” Baghdatis told CLAY when asked about how tennis has changed since he retired.
Baghdatis then elaborated on this, claiming that he could play more tactically back in his generation, pointing out that tennis courts are now slower.
“Before it was more tactical, you could play slower, play the ball,” explained Baghdatis. “Now it’s everything — one, two shots, power. Points were slower before, but courts are slower now, balls are higher. It’s different, but everything is evolving. There is so much data, so many things improving.”
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Baghdatis reached a career-high ranking of world number eight in 2006, and he was asked if he thinks he would have been successful in this generation when in his prime.
While he admitted that it is easier said than done, Baghdatis suggested that he thinks he knows how he could ‘disturb’ Grand Slam champions in today’s game.
“Yeah, I don’t know, I don’t know. When I see some players today, or players that have won Grand Slams, I always think how my game would disturb them, what I would do in certain situations,” answered Baghdatis.
“I think I could. But to actually do it is a completely different story. It’s a very difficult question to answer. Visual wise, yes, I see ways, but to go on court and do it is completely different.”
Marcos Baghdatis names the Grand Slam that all others should aspire to be like
Baghdatis achieved the best Grand Slam result of his career at the Australian Open, and the Cypriot believes that all tennis tournaments should aspire to be more like the Melbourne major.
“What I want is to have every tournament like this one (Australian Open), because this is tennis, this is how it should be,” said Baghdatis. It’s very difficult to achieve, but I think there is a possibility that tournaments can move in that direction.
“I also think there is a chance that more players — not just the top 100, but the top 300 — can earn more money.”
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Although Baghdatis reached the Australian Open final in 2006, he was unable to surpass the fourth round in his 12 appearances at the tournament after that.
The other Grand Slam where Baghdatis achieved his best results was at Wimbledon, having reached the semifinals in 2006 as well.
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