I want to give Marcos Baghdatis his own post, just out of respect and thanks for the way he lit up Melbourne these past two weeks with his electric game. This guy is not just a rare talent, he’s a delightful asset to the game. Read the full transcript of his post-match presser if you want to see why I say that.
His comments on Davis Cup are touching, but my favorite Marcos moment occurred when a reporter asked him if he was surprised by the amount of emotion Roger Federer showed during the trophy presentation ceremony.Baghdatis replied:
So now you know. This is the guy in the back of the theater, sobbing wildly when the good girl finally gets the guy, or the mother and daughter finally make peace and declare that they love each other. It only figures, because Baghdatis is a riveting showman as well as a steely competitor.
The combination is beguiling: The guy is ripping off winners left and right, then turning up to the stands with a smile and a shrug in the finest Chaplin-esque tradition. He looks and acts like some waiter from a local Greek restaurant who’s just been brain-lifted onto the floor of Rod Laver Arena, a foreign object called a tennis racquet in his hand:
Oh. Hi there. Who are you all? What am I doing here?.
Boy, he can make that racquet sing, though. In the presser, I asked him what he would differently, mentally or technically, if he could return to the decisive moment when the match turned in the second set. He replied:
He’ll learn, no doubt about that. This is an electric player with an explosive, diverse game.
He’ll be working on his podium manner, too, I imagine. I couldn’t help notice that he thanked just about everyone imaginable during the trophy presentation, from the “sweaty dude” contingent of Greek fans in the stands to the sponsors. But he neglected to mention his French girlfriend, Camille. Poor girl, I thought, that’s going to crush her.
Then, as many of you probably saw, the emcee stepped to the mike after the trophy presentation to Federer and interjected: “Sorry, but Marcos has asked me to thank two people he forgot to mention in his speech – Roger Federer and his girlfriend, Camille.”
I’ll bet it made her night; it sure made mine. How many of us not named Sampras or Laver ever get mentioned in the same breath as The Mighty Fed?
P.S. Did any of you notice the guy in the Greek peasant costume, with the white bandana (one press wag described him as Guillermo Vilas in drag) – the one who kept dancing for Baghdatis? He put on quite a show; I loved every minute of it. My Italian fellow pressman, Ubaldo Scanatgatta, waded through the crowd to find out his identity. His name is Tony Spanos, and he’s of Cypriot extraction, born in Sydney. He told Ubaldo he’s a former candidate for President, but Ubaldo forgot to ask what country. My guess: Pluto.