A welcome return to great form paid off for both Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and Richard Gasquet of France as both players advanced to the Sydney International final with contrasting wins on Friday.
Gasquet, who made headlines last year due to his involvement in a doping case, defeated compatriot Julien Benneateau 63 75. It’s his first ATP-level final since Stuttgart, Germany two years ago.
Baghdatis had to toil hard to get past Mardy Fish of the United States 64 67 76 to advance to the final. The Cypriot is a former top ten player who made the Australian Open final in 2006. However, injuries have plagued him in the past couple of years which saw his ranking drop.
“I had some moments of the match that I lost my concentration, but the most important thing is that I won the match and I’m playing a final tomorrow, so that’s pretty positive,” Baghdatis said after the match.
“It’s nice at the beginning of the year to play in a final and have a chance to win another title,” he added.
