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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2019

Marcos Baghdatis

Wimbledon, London, England

M. BERRETTINI/M. Baghdatis

6-1, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. That was quite the sendoff there at the end. You weren't in any hurry to leave the court. How did that feel?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I didn't want to leave the court. I mean, yeah, it was a nice farewell. It felt amazing. Again, I want to thank everybody for staying and giving me that last emotion.

Yeah, it felt good. It felt amazing. And, yeah, what can I say?

Q. Your wife looked pretty emotional, as well. She was filming those last few points there.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, she's an emotional person, like me. I think we are a bit the same. Yeah, it's been, for everybody, the whole team, not only for me, not only for me, but parents, coaches, agents, friends, family, everybody, everybody, my team, was there for me the last two weeks.

Yeah, I mean, I want to thank them for just being there and, you know, going through all the emotions with me.

Yeah, I'm crying but I'm happy, you know, (smiling). It's happy moment for everybody because I'm really excited for the future and, yeah, I mean, the only thing I'm sad leaving behind is the last part: the fans and the emotions that they always gave me. Yeah, that's the only thing that really I'm really sad leaving behind.

Q. Why did you decide Wimbledon as the last tournament for you? What is the biggest or, like, the most beautiful memory you have in this tournament?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I mean, every year I come here, it's a beautiful memory. I have been here, I think, in my 15-, 16-year career, I have been here 14, 15 times. I missed only once playing here.

And why here? Why not, eh? It's the history of tennis. I mean, it's the first-ever match I saw on TV. It was the final in '92, Ivanisevic and Andre Agassi. It's my wife's favorite tournament.

Yeah, I mean, okay, I had my best run was in Australian Open, for sure, but I was so consistent on grass throughout the years in this tournament, in this event. It's the most historical event that our sport has.

So why not? I mean, that's where I felt -- and also, myself, I felt it was time to, you know, to stop, to give priorities to other things in my life. I cannot thank enough, you know, the tournament for supporting me and giving me a wildcard and giving me the chance to say good-bye to the fans and to the sport that I love in this great event.

Q. How would you like to be remembered?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I think, I mean, it doesn't really matter how -- the person I am. That's, I think, the biggest thing for an athlete and for a person is to be respected and loved, and that's what I got from the fans.

You know, I think I will be remembered, I don't know, as a happy, enjoyable person, as a person of the people, you know, that I have a great communication with the people.

That's the biggest gift any athlete can have. Yeah, and from the messages I get, that's how I am remembered. It's an honor, you know. It's a great privilege to feel like that, yeah.

Q. How important is that to you, in general, over the course of your career to be a person who shared emotions? A lot of athletes have tunnel vision. They focus, they don't give, don't share, they don't smash four racquets, or give away ten. How important was that for you to have that bond with the people?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I mean, that's the person that I am. We say people show the person they are on court. That's the person I always will be and the person I grew up being is -- you know, life is not only about taking. It's about giving, also. It's about being there for your neighbor, being there for your, you know, compatriot fellow opponent.

It's being there for people. That's the way I think. That's the way I grew up. I think I got that a lot from my mom (smiling).

She always taught us to give to people. You know, I think because my parents, my mom, gave some, a lot of things to other people, I gave a lot, and I take, you know, all these emotions back. That's, like I said, it's one of the best feelings in the world.

Q. How did you feel when you walked from the No. 2 court, long way, with no shoes?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: It felt great. Really, it felt great. Yeah, it felt -- you know, it's a happy decision. It's not a sad decision. Like I said, I'm grateful. I'm so happy that tomorrow I don't need to go on the court again. (Laughter.)

For sure, like I said, I will miss a lot of things from this sport. I'll miss competing. I'll miss the fans. I'll miss having the best conversations with some players, with other coaches, you know, traveling. But, you know, the wait and the walk to the locker room was a nice feeling.

Q. Looking back, all your career, did you have any regrets or not?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, I mean, regrets, no, because I think -- I know there is not a lot of people who know what I went, you know, what I went through, leaving my home country when I was 14 years old, going to Paris. And I had to fight a lot. So I'm grateful for what I have today, what tennis gave me today.

I cannot have any regrets. Maybe the only regret, I always say I have, is the message I gave by breaking those four racquets in Australia to the young fans. And, you know, to the -- especially to the young fans, because that's not me, that's not the person I am. I know it was funny for a lot of people, but, you know, yeah, I can say that's the only thing.

Q. As you said, you came from the small island, which maybe don't have much history of tennis. You have achieved a lot of things. Maybe you leave some legacy to your country, like Greece...
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: You know, what's funny? The 4th of July, 2004, Greece won the European Championship in soccer, and that's the impact, the impact that gave -- that tournament gave me the impact that I can believe in myself and I can achieve anything. Anything is possible.

And I'm retiring on the 4th of July, 2019. And I think that says everything. And I leave a legacy behind, the same legacy I got from the team of 2004 in Portugal, I leave this legacy behind to some kids in Cyprus or Greece.

So, yeah, that's life. I think that's unbelievable that I can finish my career today. It's an unbelievable coincidence. Yeah.

Q. I want to ask you, because Stefanos said in the conference after he lost that, you know, he told the press, You don't have any idea how much he has achieved coming from such a small country. Perhaps if you can summarize a bit how Marcos Baghdatis could become the player he became from Cyprus, from such a small country with no tennis history until you?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: So the question is you want me to...

Q. How did Cyprus produce Marcos Baghdatis? And what impact did you make in the country?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, I think, you know, tennis in Cyprus right now is the second-biggest sport in the country after soccer. There is thousands of kids and a lot of academies open up after I had great success in Australia.

Yeah, I think the most important thing is to make other people believe with your actions, with what you achieve is to make other kids, in general, believe, and that's the message I always want to give back home, that anyone can achieve anything, nothing is impossible.

And, yeah, me coming from a small country shows that anything is possible, you know. That's the message, like I said, the team of 2004 in Portugal, the Greece team, made me believe and to leave that legacy behind back home, it's -- I'm really proud of that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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