By Christopher Lancette
Marcos Baghdatis joined the ranks of Legg Mason players working double shifts on Thursday. The world No. 26 took out Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a third-round match that started within a few hours of his first match. Earlier, a spirited and lengthy comeback effort by Somdev Devvarman fell short. Baghdatis walked away with a 6-2, 0-6, 7-5 win in a matched that resumed after rain last night washed away most of the evening.
“It feels great, especially going into the summer,” he said after his win over Bellucci. “Preparation wise it’s good to finish six sets today. Physical wise I felt good. You know you can do it but it’s always nice to achieve that. I’m very happy.”
The key for the Cypriot against Bellucci was shaped much like the one in the earlier match: He took over in crunch time – winning 80 percent of first-serve points, compared to 36 percent for the Brazilian.
“That second match was a bit tough in the beginning,” said Baghdatis, who had never won six sets in a single day prior to today. “Bellucci was hitting very hard and serving very well in the first set. I just tried to stay focused and hang in there and that’s what I did. Physically he was a bit down and I just picked my level a bit up.”
For fans packed into the Legg Mason stands, Baghdatis’s opener against Devvarman was the more entertaining of the two.
“Tough match for sure,” Baghdatis said. “[Devvarman] is a tricky player to play against and conditions were tough. It was pretty hot out there … The most important thing is that I found a solution to win and I’m pretty happy about that.”
For his part, Devvarman credited his opponent for finishing strong.
“I think he played well to close out the match,” Devvarman said. “It was really close at the end. It could have gone either way but I think he just played better than me at the end, and that’s why he won the match.” [Look for a feature story and light-hearted WTM “The Changeover” video interview with him soon.]
Devvarman got off to a slow noon-time start but blistered through the second set – leading to a deciding tilt filled with opportunities for both players. Tied at 3-3 but down ad out, Devvarman blasted a second serve just inside the “T” that Baghdatis could not handle. Baghdatis, however, took the next two points and broke the former University of Virginia star’s serve. Baghdatis pushed the lead to 5-3 on his next service game.
That launched a series of four long games. While Baghdatis tossed in a couple of double faults on his serves, Devvarman made up for the gifts by sending a number of ground strokes past the baseline.
He managed to pull even at 5-5, though, when he ran around a backhand and wailed a forehand winner. Devvarman pumped his fists as his Virginia teammates erupted in applause. It looked liked the match was going to turn on that point, that he had reached the top of the comeback hill – at least to observers on the sidelines.
Did the player himself see it as a moment he was taking control?
“Not really,” he said. “I knew I had my work cut out for me. Actually in the next game, I had game points on my own serve, too, and I got broken.”
The final two games displayed more style from Devvarman but slightly more consistency from Baghdatis. The match ended on two Devvarman errors – a groundie that sailed 10 feet past the baseline and a backhand into the net.
“Marcos is a good player and he has had some quality wins in his life,” Devvarman said. “He has learned to be a fighter. He doesn’t give up on court and he makes things tough for you. I had chances but unfortunately it didn’t go my way.”
Next up for Baghdatis is American Donald Young, who is quietly turning in the best Legg Mason performance of his career. Prior to this year’s event, Young’s Washington highlight came in 2008, when he made it to the round of 16 before losing to John Isner.
Photo credit © by Won-ok Kim
