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Journalism of Courage
Cyprus erupted into song and dance on Thursday when Marcos Baghdatis became the first Cypriot to reach a Grand Slam tennis final on the other side of the world.
Cypriots watching Baghdatis8217;s semi-final at the Australian Open in their lunchtime break reached for their worry beads and muttered their prayers as the match went into a fifth set.
8220;Panayia MOU,8221; said the anguished commentator on the national broadcaster several times in a plea to the Virgin Mary, echoing the mood of thousands.
8220;Finish him off,8221; he beseeched Baghdatis who eventually cameback from two sets down to beat fourth seed David Nalbandian 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Melbourne.
A former junior world champion now ranked 54th in the world, Baghdatis looked down and out after conceding the first two sets to Nalbandian before scrambling madly throughout the third and fourth sets to push the match into a fifth set.
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8226; I got a lot of chances to win the match. I can8217;t understand how I missed that opportunity to win it. It8217;s quite tough. I felt a little bit bad in the abdominal muscles when I was serving but I don8217;t think that I lost the match because of the injury. |
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Nalbandian led 4-2 in the final set before Baghdatis reeled off the last four games to secure an astonishing victory. Baghdatis was serving for the match at 15-15 in the 10th game when rain interrupted play, forcing a 30-minute delay.
For a nation which usually reserves its displays of emotion for soccer or by hanging on the coat-tails of their cousins in Greece, Baghdatis8217;s win was special. Reuters
FACTS 038; FIGURES
8226; Baghdatis became only the fourth unseeded player in 25 years to play in the Australian Open final
8226; His win over Nalbandian improved his record against top-10 players to 5-3, with all three losses coming against Federer
8226; His route to the final has seen him beating seeds Radek Stepanek 17, Andy Roddick 2 and Ivan Ljubicic 7
8226; His current 54 ranking will jump inside the top 30 after the tournament
