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Marcos Baghdatis receives hero's welcome
(Daily Times)
Updated: 2006-02-06 09:26
Marcos Baghdatis was greeted by hundreds of cheering fans at
Larnaca airport when he returned home to Cyprus following his heroics at the
Australian Open.
Cypriot tennis
player Marcos Baghdatis lifts the Cyprus tennis federation award during a
ceremony ijn his honor at Lefkothea stadium in capital Nicosia, Cyprus,
Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006. Baghdatis returned to a hero's welcome as hundreds
of people crowded to greet him following his surprise success at the
Australian Open last week. [AP] |
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The 20-year-old fought back the tears as he was reunited with his family for
the first time since his defeat by world number one Roger Federer in the Open
final on January 29. “It’s very emotional to be back,” Baghdatis told the crowd.
“I’m a little overwhelmed and I’m not sure what to say. I’d like to thank all
who came and everyone who followed my matches. It was a great experience for me
and for our country.”
Baghdatis’s mother Andri was hospitalised during the final and had a
gall stones operation a day later but she was well enough to greet her
son, accompanied by her Lebanese husband Christos. The exploits of Baghdatis, from
a village named ‘fairytale’, seized the imagination of tennis fans worldwide as
he swept into the final as an unseeded outsider. Baghdatis is a rare success
story for a divided island dominated by partisan politics where sport is
synonymous with football. Baghdatis is now ranked 27th in the world, up from 54th
before the Melbourne final, and is hailed at home as the greatest sportsman Cyprus
has produced.
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