Baghdatis will one day be number one in the world.

[tennisfreak]

Watching todays match between Baghdatis and Nadal, one thing has become apparent. Baghdatis has all the shots to be number one in the world. He has great touch. Very good baseline game with a huge shots off both wings... but with an especially huge forehand. He hits much harder than Nadal. His volleying can improve but it looks very technically sound. He is very very quick. He is about two years away from putting it together.

He is only 21 years old. Only a year older as Nadal. However, I think this guy is a late bloomer. Nadal is a prodigy. He had it all together at a very young age. He has much less to improve than Baghdatis. I think Baghdatis is similar to a Federer, where it is going to take a little bit of time for that phenomenal collection of talents to meld together into a formidable weapon. Expect Baghdatis to surpass Nadal in about two years. Maybe even one.

I liken their current matchup to Hewitt vs Federer back in the day, when Hewitt used to own Federer. After Federer put everything together... look what happened.

Federer is 25. As great as he is... at Baghdatis' peak, say in five years time, Federer will be on the downhill. He'll probably still lurk at the top of the game and will have the ability to win a grandslam at any time, but will no longer be the dominant force he once was. Expect in four or five years for Baghdatis to surpass Federer.

 

[Rhino]

i don't get it, what's this got to do with Nadal and Federers rivalry and the final on Sunday?

 

[splink779]

Baghdatis lacks a couple things I think he really needs to be more complete, one being something Federer has plenty of and Nadal has more than plenty of - Topsin.

He can't really angle his groundstrokes well. When he does spin them they are relatively weak shots, like Hewitt's. His strength is just being able to hit the ball flat as a pancake, which is why his running forehand is great, a bit like Sampras.

He also needs to improve his fitness. One test of fitness is to play Nadal. We have seen that he can play competitively with Nadal here at wimbledon and at the Pacific Life Open. But only for 1 or 2 sets. He may be a good sprinter but he tends to sometimes give up in rallies because he runs out of options and does not want to run back and forth.

Given that I think his talent is huge and he has the potential to be one of the guys in the top 5 in the future.

 

[splink779]

i don't get it, what's this got to do with Nadal and Federer?

Haha nice one!

 

[tennisfreak]

i don't get it, what's this got to do with Nadal and Federers rivalry and the final on Sunday?

Dude this has everything to do with Federer and Nadal. Read my post again. Did you really think I would be sacriligeous enough to talk about anything other than Federer and Nadal, especially on the eve of the Wimbledon final.

 

[FEDEXP]

"Baghdatis will one day be number one in the world".

Based on what (?); I wish he'd picked up that second set.....

 

[tennistomcat]

I agree that baghdatis has got the all around game that could take him far. Not sure how his mental game is though because sometimes the guy seems to go for broke or try some crazy shots on key points when winning the point outweighs the need for flair. Federer & Nadal seem to have the knack for winning the crucial points, thus separating themselves from the rest of the pack. This guy is exciting to watch & has the weapons to take the top spot. The same could be said for Safin but sometimes things don't always go the way you want though.

 

[tennisfreak]

"Baghdatis will one day be number one in the world".

Based on what (?); I wish he'd picked up that second set.....

I explained it in my post. If you don't think he has a great shot at being number one, can you please explain why?

I agree that Bags has to work on his fitness, but that is very easy to work on. His topspin shot can be worked on as well. However, his speed, touch, and his pure hitting (ala agassi) can't be taught, and he has that in spades.

I'm watching the Nadal, Bags match. Enjoying it very much even though Bags lost. He gave Nadal a lot of trouble. More than the score indicated. He just has to put it together. Bags is phenomenal.

 

[Rhino]

Dude this has everything to do with Federer and Nadal. Read my post again. Did you really think I would be sacriligeous enough to talk about anything other than Federer and Nadal, especially on the eve of the Wimbledon final.

whoa sorry pal, i was just goofing around.

Baghdatis is a brilliant player, great for the sport and was robbed today in that third set. He broke Nadal but the umpire called the ball long, awarding the game to Nadal. I wonder if Baggy could have snuck a tiebreak and maybe taken a set of Nads had the call been correct.
Was anybody else p!ssed off about that? Didn't feel like a 'proper' 3rd set result.

 

[tennisfreak]

I agree that baghdatis has got the all around game that could take him far. Not sure how his mental game is though because sometimes the guy seems to go for broke or try some crazy shots on key points when winning the point outweighs the need for flair. Federer & Nadal seem to have the knack for winning the crucial points, thus separating themselves from the rest of the pack. This guy is exciting to watch & has the weapons to take the top spot. The same could be said for Safin but sometimes things don't always go the way you want though.

The mental game is something that you can definitely learn along the way. It is experience. The experience from playing big points under duress. Bags will get more and more of that. That said, I think he is probably less of a meathead than safin.

Safin is a huge talent and if he hadn't mentally imploded he would probably have a bunch more grand slams, and Federer a bunch less.

 

[FiveO]

Baghdatis lacks a couple things I think he really needs to be more complete, one being something Federer has plenty of and Nadal has more than plenty of - Topsin.

He can't really angle his groundstrokes well. When he does spin them they are relatively weak shots, like Hewitt's. His strength is just being able to hit the ball flat as a pancake, which is why his running forehand is great, a bit like Sampras.

He also needs to improve his fitness. One test of fitness is to play Nadal. We have seen that he can play competitively with Nadal here at wimbledon and at the Pacific Life Open. But only for 1 or 2 sets. He may be a good sprinter but he tends to sometimes give up in rallies because he runs out of options and does not want to run back and forth.

Given that I think his talent is huge and he has the potential to be one of the guys in the top 5 in the future.

Nice analysis. We agree.

 

[T_S_N]

Baghdatis will never be #1 in the world, atleast not while Nadal is around (so that washes out all his chances)

 

[typingchamp]

Watching todays match between Baghdatis and Nadal, one thing has become apparent. Baghdatis has all the shots to be number one in the world. He has great touch. Very good baseline game with a huge shots off both wings... but with an especially huge forehand. He hits much harder than Nadal. His volleying can improve but it looks very technically sound. He is very very quick. He is about two years away from putting it together.

He is only 21 years old. Only a year older as Nadal. However, I think this guy is a late bloomer. Nadal is a prodigy. He had it all together at a very young age. He has much less to improve than Baghdatis. I think Baghdatis is similar to a Federer, where it is going to take a little bit of time for that phenomenal collection of talents to meld together into a formidable weapon. Expect Baghdatis to surpass Nadal in about two years. Maybe even one.

I liken their current matchup to Hewitt vs Federer back in the day, when Hewitt used to own Federer. After Federer put everything together... look what happened.

Federer is 25. As great as he is... at Baghdatis' peak, say in five years time, Federer will be on the downhill. He'll probably still lurk at the top of the game and will have the ability to win a grandslam at any time, but will no longer be the dominant force he once was. Expect in four or five years for Baghdatis to surpass Federer.

Dude, I LOVE Baghdatis and your prediction may come true, but I'm not so sure. It's not farfetched though, as Baghdatis is plenty talented.

Baghdatis has a long way to go to catch up to Nadal and Federer though. He is what, 0-6 against them combined? That isn't so great. But yeah, he can improve and he has the game to do so. I just think that Nadal and Fed at their peaks are too much. This will be seen though and Baghs is not so far off. I would LOVE three-way rivalry.

Here's how I see the breakdown:

Forehand:
All HUGE strengths for all three. Nadal has great spin, Bagh has flat, Federer has in between (and probably the best overall).

Backhand:
Baghs has a long way to catch up. Not nearly as good as his forehand. Nadal's backhand is improving a LOT lately. I was watching the first Miami Nadal vs. Fed and Nadal's backhand is becoming quite the weapon from when it used to get picked on a lot. Fed's backhand has most variety but breaks down against topspin.

Serve:
First serve, Baghs is great, second serve not so much. Fed has one of the best serves in the game, great placement, great everything. Nadal's serve is fast improving. I see this as kinda a wash, I think in a few years, their serves will all be comparable in different ways.

Speed, Defense:
Nadal has best defense maybe ever. Roger's footwork overall is maybe best ever. Baghs has great footspeed too but in a different kinda way.

Endurance:
Nadal for sure. Roger's endurance is often underestimated too much as well. Baghs needs to catch up in this area. Not so much a weakness for Baghs so much as it's such a huge strength for the other two.

All-Court play:
Feds tops this for sure. Nadal has improved greatly and will continue to. Baghs needs a lot of help with his volleys.

Mental:
Nadal tops for tenacity. Fed, what can I say? All his accomplishments don't come from someone without great mindset. Baghs seems to be brilliant for a set or two but never a whole match.

-----

So to sum up . . . since you asked people to explain what is keeping Baghs from being number one . . .

He needs to improve his endurance, all-court play (i.e. volleys), backhand, second serve . . . just to be in the same league as the other two. He has the potential to do it though . . . so I wouldn't count him out.

 

[Lee]

Dude, I LOVE Baghdatis and your prediction may come true, but I'm not so sure. It's not farfetched though, as Baghdatis is plenty talented.

Baghdatis has a long way to go to catch up to Nadal and Federer though. He is what, 0-6 against them combined? That isn't so great. But yeah, he can improve and he has the game to do so. I just think that Nadal and Fed at their peaks are too much. This will be seen though and Baghs is not so far off. I would LOVE three-way rivalry.

Here's how I see the breakdown:

Forehand:
All HUGE strengths for all three. Nadal has great spin, Bagh has flat, Federer has in between (and probably the best overall).

Backhand:
Baghs has a long way to catch up. Not nearly as good as his forehand. Nadal's backhand is improving a LOT lately. I was watching the first Miami Nadal vs. Fed and Nadal's backhand is becoming quite the weapon from when it used to get picked on a lot. Fed's backhand has most variety but breaks down against topspin.

Serve:
First serve, Baghs is great, second serve not so much. Fed has one of the best serves in the game, great placement, great everything. Nadal's serve is fast improving. I see this as kinda a wash, I think in a few years, their serves will all be comparable in different ways.

Speed, Defense:
Nadal has best defense maybe ever. Roger's footwork overall is maybe best ever. Baghs has great footspeed too but in a different kinda way.

Endurance:
Nadal for sure. Roger's endurance is often underestimated too much as well. Baghs needs to catch up in this area. Not so much a weakness for Baghs so much as it's such a huge strength for the other two.

All-Court play:
Feds tops this for sure. Nadal has improved greatly and will continue to. Baghs needs a lot of help with his volleys.

Mental:
Nadal tops for tenacity. Fed, what can I say? All his accomplishments don't come from someone without great mindset. Baghs seems to be brilliant for a set or two but never a whole match.

-----

So to sum up . . . since you asked people to explain what is keeping Baghs from being number one . . .

He needs to improve his endurance, all-court play (i.e. volleys), backhand, second serve . . . just to be in the same league as the other two. He has the potential to do it though . . . so I wouldn't count him out.

great analysis!!
keen observations. you sure know what you are talking about. However, I disagree with you regarding Marcos' endurance. Remember those 5 setters that he pulled through in Australia? His endurance has got to be up there. Just ask his girlfriend...

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

Baghdatis is a brilliant player, great for the sport and was robbed today in that third set. He broke Nadal but the umpire called the ball long, awarding the game to Nadal. I wonder if Baggy could have snuck a tiebreak and maybe taken a set of Nads had the call been correct.
Was anybody else p!ssed off about that? Didn't feel like a 'proper' 3rd set result.

i was. :neutral:

especially as marcos was getting more and more points on nadal's serve... who knows what would have happened in a 3rd set TB !
but well... it's already a good performance and he has all the tools (as tennisfreak said) for doing better very soon...

i would be really happy with a roger-marcos rivalry !!!

 

[David L]

Watching todays match between Baghdatis and Nadal, one thing has become apparent. Baghdatis has all the shots to be number one in the world. He has great touch. Very good baseline game with a huge shots off both wings... but with an especially huge forehand. He hits much harder than Nadal. His volleying can improve but it looks very technically sound. He is very very quick. He is about two years away from putting it together.

He is only 21 years old. Only a year older as Nadal. However, I think this guy is a late bloomer. Nadal is a prodigy. He had it all together at a very young age. He has much less to improve than Baghdatis. I think Baghdatis is similar to a Federer, where it is going to take a little bit of time for that phenomenal collection of talents to meld together into a formidable weapon. Expect Baghdatis to surpass Nadal in about two years. Maybe even one.

I liken their current matchup to Hewitt vs Federer back in the day, when Hewitt used to own Federer. After Federer put everything together... look what happened.

Federer is 25. As great as he is... at Baghdatis' peak, say in five years time, Federer will be on the downhill. He'll probably still lurk at the top of the game and will have the ability to win a grandslam at any time, but will no longer be the dominant force he once was. Expect in four or five years for Baghdatis to surpass Federer.

Let's not run before we can walk. Baghdatis has yet to win a title. I like Berdych to break through better.

 

[unjugon]

Marcos Baghdatis, the most overated player right behind Fernando González and Joachim Johansoon.

Nah, just joking, this guy is the real deal. I can see Bags fighting for number 1. I don´t get the same feeling with the Berdychs and Djokovics.

 

[TEAM ZERO]

I think this guy is a late bloomer.

I dunno about that coz baghdatis was junior number one a few years ago and he's still 21! Ljubicic started to come up last year and hez already 28!

I suppose its tough to beat nadal but he has a good chance being in the top 10 and maybe top 3!? I realised during the nadal game that baghdatis stopped doing the bounce through the leg motion before serving! I watched him beat puerta at the Japan Open last year and he did the bounce thing before every serve!!!

 

[tlm]

Bags will never be even close to #1,get a clue!!

 

[typingchamp]

great analysis!!
keen observations. you sure know what you are talking about. However, I disagree with you regarding Marcos' endurance. Remember those 5 setters that he pulled through in Australia? His endurance has got to be up there. Just ask his girlfriend...

Haha . . . good one.

It's not really a weakness, it's just that Fed and Nads excel so much and impose their will physically as well as mentally. I don't think Marcos keeps up his physicality as well over a long match.

 

[jhhachamp]

I don't think he will ever be #1 simply because Nadal is about the same age as him.

 

[Kobble]

Like I said before, he is the Rios like talent with a love for the game and the moment. I would like to say he will win a slam, but nothing is a guarantee for anyone outside the top 2.

 

[superman1]

What I do like about him is that he said that the gap between him and Fed/Nadal is not as big as everyone says and with more experience he can beat them. That's what I want to hear more of from the ATP. These guys are all the best in the world, why should they constantly suck up to the top 2 guys and say that they are a league above the rest? Baghdatis has the talent and with better fitness and more experience he certainly could give Fed and Nadal a run for their money. The second set against Nadal was very close yesterday and Baggy beat up on Federer for the first set of their AO final, so there's no reason why he can't potentially beat them one day.

 

[monologuist]

I don't ever see Baghdatis at #1....I think he has a lot going for him, and I could see him being a fixture in the top 10, maybe get to top 5, but he just does not have the elite athleticism or killer instinct of Nadal, the versatility and all-court abilities of Gasquet, the firepower of Berdych and Djokovic. He thrives as a counterpuncher, but he can't cover as much court as Monfils or Nadal...if he was faster or was longer physically, I'd give him a shot maybe....perhaps a rigourous conditioning regimen would do the trick...but he has a long way to go in that department...the disparity between Marcos and Nadal in terms of strength, speed, quickness, raw athletic talent, is fairly sizeable : Like Federer, I could see Nadal being a world class athlete in a variety of sports...Baghdatis?

I could see him going far in his career if he went through an Agassi-like route : upping his fitness several notches, working his butt off in general, building his baseline consistency to machine-like precision, learning how to dictate points and run people around, become an aggressive baseliner rather than a counterpuncher....that would probably be his best bet given his talents and phyiscal traits.

 

[VamosRafa]

What I do like about him is that he said that the gap between him and Fed/Nadal is not as big as everyone says and with more experience he can beat them. That's what I want to hear more of from the ATP. These guys are all the best in the world, why should they constantly suck up to the top 2 guys and say that they are a league above the rest? Baghdatis has the talent and with better fitness and more experience he certainly could give Fed and Nadal a run for their money. The second set against Nadal was very close yesterday and Baggy beat up on Federer for the first set of their AO final, so there's no reason why he can't potentially beat them one day.

It was close, but Bags has to go back somewhere, hit the practice courts and be serious about this sport.

At this point, he treats it as a bit of a circus, and it's amazing that he's been able to do well treating it that way.

It's not a good reflection on the sport, IMO.

 

[Baghdatis72]

Anyone remembers what Federer was like in 2002 and 2003? No one knew for sure that he was going to become a number 1. In 2002 he won 2 titles (1 International in Sydney and 1 Masters series in Hamburg and ironically on clay). In 2003 he wins 4 international series, 1 Grand Slam (Wimby) and the Masters Cup. In 2004 it all begins all of a sudden and he's no1 and starts becoming a legend.

If Baghdatis works correctly then next year might be his time of greatness and all he needs is to start winning titles and believing in himself without a doubt. He already started with Beijing and this was a good way to leave the bottom. I believe that we're in for a lot of changes in 2007.

 

[WhiteSox05CA]

Marcos is amazing. No.1 NO DOUBT! He's got the enthusiasm, and the skill, and he is definately well liked. He's got a great future, and I'm DEFINATELY looking forward to it!
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