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PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 15, 2006

Marcos Baghdatis

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Marcos.
Q. The guy who beat Hewitt; you must feel pretty good?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Today in tennis, everybody can beat everybody. Every match the same. I take it the same.
I played really good today. I served a lot of breakpoints. I was playing really good important points, so I'm very happy that I went through easily in the second.
Q. What happened with your eye?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Like an insect went into my eye. That's all. Like a thing went into my eye. I was, like, couldn't open my eye. The doctor, he put me some liquid in my eye, then we took it out.
Q. He had a lot of breakpoint chances. Didn't make many of them.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Didn't make any of them (smiling).
Q. Was that the big difference in the match?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, like I said, I was playing well in important points. I was serving really good. He didn't take his chances. So that helped me a bit. Then second set, I just played better than him, I can say.
I mean, I went through a great victory today, so I'm very happy.
Q. In a period after you got to the Australian final, did you at some point while you were resting and relaxing think how you were going to keep it going? Did you come up with a plan for what you were going to do?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Think about? Yeah, of course, I did. It's normal thinking. When you think, it helps you stay focused and stay in your objectives. So, yeah, I can say that I thought about it, yeah.
Q. What did you think? What was your game plan to basically back up your Australian performance?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Just play my tennis. Just continue working hard, especially working hard working on my physical because I know that my game is based on my physical. So that's what I work on.
Q. Do you take offense when people in the American press refer you to as "Baggy" and the "Bag Man"? Or are those names that you value?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't know. I just play tennis. That's my job. That's what I like to do.
Q. After reaching a Grand Slam final, everything that happened to you, it would be easy to go down. You must be very pleased with the way you've come here to this event?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Maybe it's easy to go up there, but it's not easy to stay up there. I think that's where the champions -- that's where you see the champions. For the moment, I'm dealing with it well. I want to continue this way. I want to continue work hard and continue to work hard and have fun in it.
I think if I do that, if God wants, I'll stay up there.
Q. Is it important, do you think, to keep Australia in your mind or is it important to try and put that to one side? It was such a great adventure.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: It depends. I mean, Australia, you cannot forget it and you cannot take it out for me because it was amazing emotions, amazing moments for me, and it was my first time.
But, like I said, I am dealing with it well for the moment. My team around me helps me a lot. I work with great people that keep me confident, keep me willing to work hard, don't miss a match, try to fight in every match.
Q. Do you sense when you walk into the locker room now that people look at you with different eyes?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, players are nice to me. They were nice to me before. No.
Q. You are 6-0 against top 10 players. Berdych is up and down. What is the difference between the two of you?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: What do you mean, what is the difference?
Q. You've had very good results against top 10 players. Berdych has been up and down. Why would you say that is?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't really know. I don't know what Berdych does. I don't really know what wins he had.
But he's a great player. I'm a great player, too. We're the same age. I think we play great tennis, both of us. Like I said, tennis is a tough sport. You have to be there every day and fight every day. Not a lot of people can do that.
Q. Getting back to the Australian Open, halfway through the Australian Open and beyond, the feeling was you saved this year's Australian Open.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I saved?
Q. You saved it.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: What do you mean I saved it (smiling)?
Q. It was starting to get, with big withdrawals or losses, you were like a breath of fresh air.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: That's good.
Q. Would you have considered that?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No.
Q. How do you compare this court speed to the Australian Open?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: In Melbourne, first of all, the atmosphere is different. The weather is different. The court's a bit faster. The ball jumps a bit higher. That's all. A bit faster.
Q. What is your preference?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't mind. I mean, I play good here. I play good in Australia. Maybe next year I'll go to Australia, I'll lose first round. Nobody knows. I don't know. That's life. I have to accept it. Everybody does.
Q. I don't know if you've had time to make friends with Marat Safin.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Not really.
Q. Do you think that his comeback is a big story around the locker room? Are people excited he's back? Players tend to like him.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: You know, I wasn't in the circuit for long, so I don't know what the players were discussing about or the atmosphere. I cannot answer that question. I mean, I'm not there for long. It's my first Masters Series. I don't really know what's going in there. I don't know.
Q. A lot of people were asking you what was happening at home during Australia. What's going on now? Are people trying to get your matches on TV? I don't know of any reporters from a Greek or Cypriot paper here.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, they're not here, but they're watching my matches on Greek TV, I think. The last two matches they saw on Greek television. I don't know, maybe against the winner, maybe next round, because it's a quarterfinal, it's more important, maybe there will be more people watching. Maybe will get crazy again like in Australia.
Q. Do they call you at the hotel, reporters, from Greece or Cyprus?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No.
Q. After you, who is the most prominent athlete to ever come out of Cyprus?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Me.
Q. Besides you.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Some football players. Orcas. Do you want the names?
Q. Yes.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Okkas.
Q. Football player?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, football player.
Q. If you were to play Nadal, that's going to be a match that everyone would want to watch.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Me, too (smiling).
Q. Your styles are so exciting.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, I mean, it's a great match. I mean, like I said before, I'll take it like another match and I'll try to win it, of course. I'll fight for it and that's all. That's all I can do.
Q. Are you as excited at the way he plays?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, he's a great player. He's a great sportsman. He's a great guy. He's playing great tennis. That says it all.
Q. Can you reveal the secret of why the islands of the Mediterranean produce such colorful tennis players?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: You can ask my father about that.

End of FastScripts...

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