Starting on December 7—the 25th day left in 2010—TENNIS.com will countdown from the year-end No. 25 on both tours with "The Last Word," a look back at the year that was and a look ahead at the season to come. Here's who we've looked at so far.
Best of 2010
The shot-making showman excelled on the hard courts of Sydney, beating Viktor Troicki, Lleyton Hewitt, Mardy Fish and Richard Gasquet in succession to win his fourth career title. That performance was a prelude to the match he called “the best of my career”: A comeback win against Roger Federer in Indian Wells. Baghdatis battled back from a 1-4 third-set deficit and fought off three match points to win 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
Worst of 2010
For all his wondrous racquet skills, the stocky Cypriot’s stamina remains suspect. Baghdatis failed to surpass the third round of any major and suffered opening-round exits to No. 75 Lukas Lacko (Wimbledon) and 32-year-old Arnaud Clement (U.S. Open). He failed to produce his best tennis in the biggest tournaments, posting a 4-4 record in Grand Slam play and going 8-8 in Masters 1000 events.
Year in Review
The 2006 Australian Open runner-up reinforced his reputation as a man who often plays his best tennis at the start of the season. Baghdatis captured Sydney, knocked off 18th-seeded David Ferrer in Melbourne and reached the semis of Dubai, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. Sporting his trademark shoulder-length hair, scraggly beard and a smile plastered across his face, Baghdatis also reached semifinals in Munich (losing to Marin Cilic) and Cincinnati (beating Tomas Berdych and Rafael Nadal before bowing to Federer) and was runner-up to David Nalbandian in Washington. But a sore shoulder prompted Baghdatis to pull the plug on his season after Moscow. Baghdatis has a tendency to try to serve bigger than his comfort zone permits—he served just 52 percent on the season—and could benefit by going for some higher-percentage strikes.
See for Yourself
The Bag Man pulls out all the shots—pounding backhands, a drop shot, lob winners, a running forehand and some huge serves—and beats Federer for the first time:
The Last Word
The flashy baseliner can be one of the most exciting players in the sport, but his questionable conditioning continues to be a road block in best-of-five-set matches. Since 2006, when he reached two Grand Slam final fours, Baghdatis has reached just one quarterfinal in 14 Grand Slam tournament appearances. The mental and physical demands required of consistent Top 10 players seems to be missing; Baghdatis was 7-19 when losing the first set this season and is just 29-85 (.254) lifetime after losing the opening set. But the former junior world No. 1 is so talented he should sustain a spot somewhere between No. 15 and No. 40, with the occasional spike in best-of-three-set events.
—Richard Pagliaro