Baghdatis Profile:   Country Cyprus Residence Limassol, Cyprus Date of birth June 17, 1985 (1985-06-17) (age 22) Place of birth Paramytha, Limassol District, Cyprus Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) Weight 82 kg (181 lb) Plays Right-handed; two-handed backhand

Biography

Marcos started playing tennis at the age of 5, at the Famagusta Tennis Club, in Limassol, under the supervision of a Czech coach. At the age of 7, he transferred to the Limassol Sporting Club, and trained there, with tennis becoming a passion for him. At the age of 11, he decided to move to Nicosia and train under the supervision of the National Tennis Coach, Mr. Yiannos Hadjigeorgiou. Yiannos, as the captain of the Davis Cup team and Federal Coach of Cyprus, coached Markos for nearly 3 years and initiated him in the international scene of tennis competition. The Cyprus Tennis Federation has strongly supported Marcos throughout his career in International Tennis.

During the “Masters U14 - Best 8” tournament in Prado - Italy, Markos came in contact with Patrick Mouratoglou, and then signed a contract with the Mouratoglou Academy, after a visit to the tennis academy in Montreuil, France. Markos has since then moved to France for training within the academy.

2003 was the year, with the most positive results for Markos. His year ended with glory after winning many junior tournaments, and by the end of the same year, Markos became the World No. 1 in Juniors. It was without doubt the most important title of his career at that moment, reassuring him for his further success in the Men’s Circuit. In the year 2005, he won his first Challenger series tournament in Spain and made finals in Basel.

The year 2006 can be considered as the year of glory for Markos. He became finalist at the Australian Open, defeating big names, like Nalbadian and Roddick, while losing after a superb performance to Roger Federer in the finals. Markos has became Cyprus Best National Athlete ever, in the history of all Cyprus sports. Continuing his excellent performance, he reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon the same year, losing to Rafael Nadal.

Markos won his first Master Series tournament in Beijing 2006, after an outstanding performance against Mario Ancic in the finals.

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