Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus won the Sydney International title on Saturday after his convincing win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet 67 76, making him a dangerous opponent at the Australian Open which begins on Monday.
A rain delay that lasted more than an hour did not dampen the Cypriot’s spirit despite being down 2-5 in the second set. With the title win, his ranking is expected to get as high as 35th on Monday.
Injuries have plagued the former top ten player for the past two years which saw his ranking drop. In 2006, Baghdatis impressed the crowd after reaching the Australian Open final as an unseeded player. He lost to Roger Federer. The 2003 Australian Open junior champion will start his campaign on Tuesday against Paolo Lorenzi of Italy.
Gasquet will meet Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic on Tuesday’s first round match at the Melbourne Park.
