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May/18

29

The Tears of Baghdatis and the Rain in Paris

garros

Marcos Baghdatis was leading Santiago Giraldo a set and 4-3 today in the first round at Roland Garros but called a medical timeout and then suddenly retired. He was in tears in his chair. It’s yet another heartbreaking loss for the soon-to-be 33 year old Baghdatis.

The Cypriot has had his fair share of those. None more memorable than the fifth set tiebreaker devastation to Agassi at the US Open in 2006. That loss killed the career of Baghdatis, who was top ten that year as an Australian Open finalist and Wimbledon semifinalist. For the rest of his career until now Baghdatis has only reached on major quarterfinal – at Wimbledon in 2007. The rest of Bag’s career is a slew of first, second and third round failures in majors.

It’s a grim reeality of tennis how one brutal, traumatic loss can kill a man’s career. It happened to Vince Spadea who served for the win vs Michael Chang at US Open third round under the lights on Louie Armstrong but ultimately lost in five. Spadea was never really a factor after that.

Paul Henri Mathieu was up two sets and at 4-4 in the final fifth rubber vs Mikhail Youzhny to win the Davis Cup for France in France but somehow let Youzhny off the hook in five.

One loss doesn’t always equal one loss in tennis, sometimes it can equal a hundred losses.

It’s so sad to see Baghdatis toil along for a decade as a journeyman when in 2006 he showed us all he was and should have been an ATP superstar.

Bagdhatis did win four ATP singles titles – in Sydney, Zagreb, Stockholm and Beijing, and he did whoop Federer in Indian Wells one year. But he should have achieved so much more. 2006 should have been just the beginning.

As the tears fell in Paris today with the rains, you have to wonder how many more times we will see the colorful, charismatic Marcos Baghdatis play on the Grand Slam stages…

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58 comments

  • Doug Day · May 29, 2018 at 9:41 am

    Hungarian (operative word hungry) Fucsovics is a seemingly bulletproof new baseline force.

  • Dan Markowitz · May 29, 2018 at 12:25 pm

    What do you mean Spadea wasnā€™t a factor again? He beat Agassi at Aussie O in 99 to reach semis. When you reach slam semis youā€™re a factor. Your boy Rios only went one round further.

    Beating Pospisil doesnā€™t make one a world beater and neither does winning weak Geneva event. I like the Hungarian, but letā€™s not get too hyperbolic about him yet.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 12:38 pm

    Fucsovics should keep wearing that Ivan Drago mask, what a beast. Ready to pull off a Soderling?

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    Spadea was a major semifinalist? Totally forgot that. Think he was QF. Beating a hold-cold Agassi in a major is great but the one off upset doesn’t mean he was a factor to challenge to win it. Spadea was never even a remote contender to win a major, he was as much a threat as DY or Tennsy Sandgren or Ernie Gulbis, except for that one good run.

  • Joe Blow · May 29, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    He only reached the semiā€™s in your fantasy..QF ainā€™t Semiā€™s…to quote Gilbertā€ Thatā€™s a red card Danā€

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 1:09 pm

    Holy smokes, Sock is about to lose in the fifth set to Jurgen Zopp, or is that Alexander Popp? Zopp is about to popp Sock out of the French Open. Harrison went down meekly to Marterer and Sandgren got whooped by Hubie Hukarz. Isner also sent Rubin home though Rubin forced Iz to two 9-7 tiebreakers. Can Sock go back to college?

  • Joe Blow · May 29, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    Down goes Sock….3 first round losses in a row at Majors…

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 1:35 pm

    Sock losing to Jurgen Zopp is as bad as it gets. Zopp is a 30 yr old journeyman from Estonia who has only six career ATP match wins on clay. His career ATP record is 17-31 and his best rank is 71 in 2012. Zopp lost to Kudla in qualies but LLed his way into the draw. This has to be a rock bottom loss for Sock. He has to make major changes to his team and his professional methods right now.

  • catherine · May 29, 2018 at 1:39 pm

    I’ll treat this as the new RG thread. Sock down and out but I’ll leave others to comment on that.

    Edmund bts De Minauer so great joy in UK media.
    (they need some after Konta’s broadside)

    Kerber and Julia G both avoid first round dismissals. Julia has 3 setter with Cibulkova who probably gave up in the 3rd (0-6) after her teeth-grinding loss in Strasbourg.

  • Chazz · May 29, 2018 at 1:39 pm

    Total embarrassment of a loss for Sock. I was trying to find a place that streamed it but since I don’t have Tennis Channel Plus I was unable to find it anywhere. Top 10 to unable to win a match against anyone.

    In other news, that was a really impressive dominating win by Johnson over the Frenchman Mannarino. Also Edmund destroyed De Minaur, who maybe isn’t ready for primetime yet.

  • catherine · May 29, 2018 at 1:40 pm

    Only saw above comments when I submitted my own. Now I feel sorry for Jack- loses gf and tennis game both at once šŸ™‚

  • Thomas Tung · May 29, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    Good win by Johnson over the always tricky and clever Mannarino (I really like watching Mannarino play out there; he throws a lot at you: not just firepower, but off-pace stuff as well).

  • catherine · May 29, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    Julia G served 17 aces v Cibulkova. Domi must’ve felt she’d been hit by a blunderbuss.

    When she’s on Julia has to have the best serve in the WTA at present (I’m excepting Serena because we haven’t seen enough yet.)

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 1:59 pm

    Pretty sure that is the second time Edmund has handled Deminaur this year. This kid is a featherweight and he’s struggling to hang in there with the heavyweights. He’s a super tenacious incredible competitor but with his limited firepower he’s unable to hurt the elites. He’s still young and way ahead of Goffin and Schwartzman at the same age. Let’s give the kid a couple of years more to adapt to the ATP level. Edmund is a force right now, as he proved in Australia beating Dimitrov and he’s sustained the elite results all year.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 2:03 pm

    Thomas, I agree with you and also Dan, Mannarino is always a good player to watch with his variety and touch, he seems to play throwback tennis with an almost feminine manner but he also has heavyweight power when necessary. Johnson has his number though and I believe he is now 5-2 vs Mannarino. If Mannarino had the on court extrovert in your face intensity and fury of Hewitt and Nadal and Serena I think he would be a top five player.

  • Duke Carnoustie · May 29, 2018 at 2:41 pm

    I really should have bet on Sock to lose that match. Longer odds and could have paid for more strippers. He truly is an embarrassment of a player.

    It was in Paris he experienced his greatest high and now he is at an his worst low. Soon he will be with Tomic and D-Young on the challenger circuit.

    Stevie is turning things around. This could be an RG to remember for him.

  • catherine · May 29, 2018 at 3:04 pm

    Social notes:

    Boris Becker divorcing. Boris and family were living in London for a while and then moved to Switzerland, and now with his job at the DTB he seems to have put roots down in Germany again.

    It was suggested that Becker’s financial problems became an issue in the failure of his 2nd marriage.

    (I think he’s only been married twice)

  • catherine · May 29, 2018 at 3:21 pm

    In the 1min 58 secs allowed for highlights by RG I thought Serena looked quite slow and vulnerable in her match. I will be very surprised if she gets further than QF.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    Johnson turned his season around in Houston 1R vs Escobedo down a set and a mini break in the second set tiebreaker and Esco double faulted at 5-5. That DF, that single solitary DF turned around Johnson’s whole career and year. Incredible how one point can be so important.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 3:39 pm

    Saw a Serena practice highlight video and she does look slow and out of tune, almost uncomfortable. But so did Isner in his first round match vs Vesely in Miami. Then in that third set he found his footing and he zoomed to the title. Serena could find that rhythm too at any time, if it’s still inside her. Maybe not.

  • Dan Markowitz · May 29, 2018 at 4:39 pm

    Incredible I forgot Spadea only reached the Qtrs of a slam not semis, but let’s not loop him into same category as Sandgren and Johnson and Harry in slam achievements as Vince beat no. 7 at the time Kafelnikov in a slam, he beat Krakjcek, Agassi, Rusedski, Bjorkman, Davydenko I think at slams.

    As for Sock losing, he isn’t much above DY at this point. I saw some of Serena’s match and she was hitting the ball with conviction and still serving well. You’ve got to give her some time to regain her footing, but she and her coach and her hubby are all fun to watch because they’re all so intense.

    I was also watching some of the Woz v Danielle Collins. I’ll take a Serena match any day. Most of the top women, I’m sorry, they’re boring with a capital B. Women’s game and men’s for that matter as far as personalities is lacking. You look at these young male players, Dimitrov, Zverev, Raonic, Coric, Thiem, Nishikori, the Greek youngster, Fritz, Donaldson, you’ve got to hit the snooze button for all these guys. The only one’s who have some pizzazz are Shapovalov and Tiafoe.

  • Joe Blow · May 29, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    Sorry,the Tiafoe buzz on this site, is so over the freaking top!! Heā€™s not even in the same league as Shapo. Delray big woop!!
    He played a rusty Fed 5 sets, in a horrible, up, and down match. Bet if you asked Fed, he wouldā€™ve said he was never afraid of losing.
    Tiafoeā€™s BH is not getting him to the top of Menā€™s tennis. Canā€™t pass anybody off that side.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    Foe flamed Shap in Delray and has won an APT title. Even Sloane Steven.

  • Chazz · May 29, 2018 at 5:12 pm

    First I’ve heard anyone say Tiafoe’s weakness is his backhand. I would say (as well as many analysts) that his weakness is his serve and his net game, although he doesn’t really need much of a net game to be elite. His serve needs to give him more free points than he is getting. I agree with Dan that he and Shapo are the most exciting among NextGen right now. You can degrade Delray all you want, Joe, but he beat Del Potro, Chung and the guy you said he isn’t in the same league as (in SS) en route to the title.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    Moutet has flair. Tsitsipas has dynamic game. Fritz is a fighter.

  • JG · May 29, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    Tiafoe also got to the final in Portugal on European clay, he had an off 2 sets yesterday, had a set point but blew it, if he got that set who knows what would have happened, Querry can serve anyone off the court and the clay was apparently playing fast yesterday. Quarry can go far if the conditions remain dry and hot, if the clay gets damp he can lose to anyone.

    You have to love Serena’s outfit today, at least shes mixing it up–not wearing the same thing everyone else is.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 6:12 pm

    JG, Tiafoe made a big mistake in saying Querrey is a little goofy the day before the match in a media interview. There is no doubt such a veiled insult surely provoked and fired up Sam to give the mouthy cocky whippersnapper a can of whoop ass. Evander Holyfield once said he was always careful to never verbally insult an opponent so as not to give them any extra incentive. Tiafoe has to learn to be more careful with his words and to show nothing but respect for veteran opponents.

  • jg · May 29, 2018 at 7:10 pm

    Heā€™s goofy, he was on the Bachelor and was goofy in that, maybe heā€™s no longer goofy

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    Yes but Tiafoe is overstepping his bounds making such comments about a well respected elite ATP veteran champion. You don’t call Querrey goofy publicly or even in a private setting. No doubt Querrey saw it as an offensive taunt from an uppity youngster. The uppity youngster has been put into his proper place now with the straight set beatdown in the woodshed.

  • Duke Carnoustie · May 29, 2018 at 9:06 pm

    Foe has knocked off Shapo, DelPo, Berdych, Edmund and PCB this year.

    Yes a mistake to insult a goofball like Querrey. I would never do it.

    Sock called the chair umpire atrocious and seemed to be upset about calls in the highlights. Someone needs to tell him that playing to the level of Jurgen Zopp is grounds to not be taken seriously.

  • Duke Carnoustie · May 29, 2018 at 9:10 pm

    As for Serena, the catsuit was OK but let’s face it, she was so much sexier at the Open when she was younger and wore that outfit. It’s one of the great U.S. Open tennis moments when she wore that.

    I think Barty will beat her. This guy she married sure is boring in the interviews I have seen but he is super-rich and that was her No. 1 criteria so good for him.

    Anyone think Donaldson can beat Grigor? I think it can happen.

    I think Thiem will need 5 for Tsitsipas.

  • jg · May 29, 2018 at 9:13 pm

    Maybe Sock should skip the grass court season and play the Binghamton challenger

  • Duke Carnoustie · May 29, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    Keep in mind Kudla beat Zopp 2 and 1. So yes, Sock is at the D-Young level right about now.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    Sock is a whiner when losing. I read he was fairly abusive to the female chair umpire. Any way you cut it, it’s a bad loss by Sock, maybe his worst loss yet.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    Serena’s outfit seems to be to hide her soft parts. Wonder why she just can’t tone up those regions? She’s kind of looking like Canas did a few years ago, really flabby. When she gets back in shape she will be fine.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 9:23 pm

    Tsitsipas and Donaldson are dangerous opponents to the top seeds, anything can happen.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 9:24 pm

    Zopp was said to be feeling ill vs Kudla.

  • Dan Markowitz · May 29, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    Sock gets that little grin on his face that to me is either saying, “Look at this, this is a joke that I’m in a tough match with this scrub?” or “I’m not really into this. I’d rather be raiding a college campus to see what kind of freshman girl I can pick up.”

    For all the criticism Izzie, Qball and SteveJo have taken over the years, here they are either 30+ or closing in on 30 and they’re still the only American men beside JD who actually goes out and plays all the European clay events, who can win a match.

    I was just talking to Fritz Buehning after he gave my son his weekly lesson (Callum beat the no. 16 boy in the nation in the Class of 2024 on tennisrecruiting.net this weekend) and he said he only played the French Open once and he lost in the second round to Vitas Gerulatis winning only 4 games and he never went back. It’s not easy winning matches at the French for most Americans. Not everyone can be like Spadea and win nine matches at the French.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 29, 2018 at 9:53 pm

    Agree with your interpretation of Sock’s smirk. Hewitt used to wear smirks but they sent a different message, ‘I’m gonna kick your ass!” ‘you really think you can beat LLEYTON HEWITT?!” Hewitt also used to punch the ground as if to punch his unconscious opponent when they were down. Hewitt played with such a raw hatred in his eyes and demeanor. Like a tennis killing machine with absolutely no mercy or compassion for anything. Almost like a psychopath, bloody thirsty vampire, hungering for more victory blood. Especially with the certain players he seemed not to like and or didn’t like him. Hewitt’s intensity was very entertaining and gripping to watch. Sock is big and tough but there’s a Baby Huey element to his demeanor. If he could somehow incorporate more hate and arrogance into his competitive character I think he would get the better results.

  • Chazz · May 29, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    Scoop, I did not hear Tiafoeā€™s recent ā€œgoofballā€ comment about QBall, but my guess is it was misinterpreted because I have heard Tiafoe in the past comment on how funny and goofy some of his fellow American pros are. I really doubt it was meant or taken as an insult considering they probably know each other pretty well from being on last yearā€™s Washington Kastles WTT team together.

  • Duke Carnoustie · May 30, 2018 at 12:52 am

    Truer words have never been spoken than these below of Mr. Dan Markowitz. I am still laughing my ass off.

    Sock gets that little grin on his face that to me is either saying, ā€œLook at this, this is a joke that Iā€™m in a tough match with this scrub?ā€ or ā€œIā€™m not really into this. Iā€™d rather be raiding a college campus to see what kind of freshman girl I can pick up.ā€

  • dan markowitz · May 30, 2018 at 12:58 am

    Very funny line in the “Comments” on Tennis.com about why Sock is losing so much, it’s his stupid Amish beard. Well, I thought it was funny.

  • catherine · May 30, 2018 at 3:36 am

    Dan – please stop going on about how much you dislike women’s tennis and how boring it is. We know that. I might find the endless talk about Jack Sock pretty boring – I do, so I skip Sock comments.

    And you seem to judge so much of the game on ‘personalities’ – which is pretty subjective is it not ? What do we really know about any player’s personality ? And why should they reveal it on the tennis court ?

    Scoop –
    I’m beginning to doubt Serena will ever get back in shape. She’s past the age where that is easy to do and her figure has always been on the curvaceous side. I believe the first player who really tests her movement and isn’t intimidated by The Legend is going to beat her. I’d love to hear the locker room chat about Williams – the stuff they don’t tell you.

    Don’t think Barty will beat her. Ash has been leaching confidence this year.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 30, 2018 at 7:05 am

    Chazz I didn’t see or read the quotes either but during the match another tennis journalist texted me about it and how it likely motivated Sam to put the beatdown on Tiafoe. Didn’t call him flat out goofy but said he’s kind of goofy. Not really a blatant insult but a subtle insult a subtle jab at Sam being a goofball.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 30, 2018 at 7:12 am

    Catherine, Dan likes his personalities but two of his favorites Mannarino and Spadea were two of the most boring, bland personalities in the ATP. These two very very very rarely ever showed any personality on court. You could be right about Serena, she might have tried everything to get her body back but nothing is working. She’s been training hard for six months and she still looks astoundingly oversized.

  • Dan Markowitz · May 30, 2018 at 7:38 am

    Catherine,

    I just call it like I see it and please don’t tell myself or other people on the site what you don’t want to hear from them. That’s not the spirit of the site. If I see a women’s match I like or a player who catches my fancy, I mention it. I liked watching Serena because she’s so emotional. And Scoop is right, two of my favorite players, Spadea and Mannarino, two good Italian boys (I like the Italian players in general, Bollelli, Fognini and of course my personal favorite Pozzi, but Schiavone and Vinci too) were pretty bland of personality.

    I once had a friend Kenny Katz, who is an Eastern player legend and played no. 2 at Princeton back in the 80’s and has an indirect win over Bjorn Borg (Kenny beat John James who had beaten Borg) and he said you see someone’s true personality when you watch them play a tennis match with something large at stake.

    And I think that’s true. So no, you don’t know who these people are for the most part, but the most important part of their character, “how they react under pressure; do they have senses of humor in difficult situations?; how do they react to a bad lines call or a disagreement with the umpire?; do they carry an undue sense of entitlement?; do they have the entertainer’s gene?;” these are all things you can discern in watching a match, especially at a slam.

    Look, I watch a lot of tennis. This past weekend on two days I watched my son play four matches in a big tournament at Port Washington Tennis Academy. In the quarters of a Super 6, the top 32 kids in the East 12U, he beat a boy named Max Safir who is ranked no. 16 on TennisRecruiting.net for the Class of 2024. My son came back from 3-0 and 6-3 in the Super Breaker to win 10-8.

    The next day in the semis, he was beaten by Cal Wilder, no. 2 in the East in Boy’s 12, 6-1, 6-1, and he started giving me pouting looks as early as 3-0 in the first set. He had fought so valiantly in the prior match so it was disappointing to see him lose his calm and focus. It’s hard to play with a good spirit when your losing and getting out-classed, but I like seeing those players with pluck and fight and hopefully this was a blip in Callum’s tennis journey.

    But yes, personality, flair and fight and quirkiness are all favorite traits I enjoy in players.

  • catherine · May 30, 2018 at 8:22 am

    Dan – I’m not telling anyone here what they can or can’t talk about, I’ve never done that, and it’s not what I meant. (although I’ve had a couple of people here tell me to stop discussing certain players.)

    But you often say here that you find women’s tennis boring and I do wonder why you keep saying it. You’ve also said, in the past, that you don’t have a high regard for the women’s game. You watched Wozniaki and Collins and found the match dull and I’m not surprised – they aren’t either of them notably full of ‘flair, fight and quirkiness’ as you put it. You might have chosen a better pair. You also mentioned a few men you don’t find interesting but you don’t dismiss the men’s game on that basis.

    Maybe our perceptions of personality are different – and as I said, it’s all subjective anyway.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 30, 2018 at 8:44 am

    Cornet may be saving womens tennis, she took some shots at Muguruza this week (as I noted earlier) and she is a drama queen of all drama queens on the court, with her antics and what look like blatant fake injuries and timeouts. Plus she hams it up big time with the celebrations. She is a bundle of joy to watch and the most entertaining player there is today, emotion and drama wise. Becoming a big fan of Cornet, hope she can shuck and jive her way deep into the draw.

  • catherine · May 30, 2018 at 8:54 am

    Ha ha Scoop – tell that to Kerber. She didn’t find Alize funny at all. Her German inner puritan really jumped up.

    But why, as I asked before, did Cornet say that about Muguruza ? They must have had some big falling-out. Not many (well none, really)players are that frank in assessment of their colleague’s personalities šŸ™‚

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 30, 2018 at 9:40 am

    Maybe there’s a building resentment of Muguruza for whatever reasons and Cornet just is open and blunt enough to let it out? Cornet strike me as one who is fearless to express herself in any way she feels. Hope she goes full drama queen mode in Paris and brings home the title. And I hope more is revealed about this Cornet riff with Muguruza.

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