Janko Tipsarevic dumps Marcos Baghdatis to clinch title win – Malaysia Open 2011
Finally, the new world number 13, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, got his hands on his first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) championship title, after he defeated the 54th ranked, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, in
the final of the Malaysian Open on Sunday afternoon.
Seeded at number three in the tournament, Tipsarevic continued to impress everyone with his brilliant form this season and outplayed the Cypriot in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, to bag the ATP World Tour 250 title.
Being played on the indoor hard courts of the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to contest took two hours and six minutes to conclude, with the Serb contestant coming out as the winner. Baghdatis posed good
resistance to Tipsarevic but the third seed proved too good for him in the end. He beat the Cypriot in every segment of the game to dispose him off in an authoritative manner.
“It feels great. I think I deserved it,” said Tipsarevic after winning first championship of his career. “I’m so happy that it came in a good place, at a tournament that is really, really nice, and against a good player. Marcos
Baghdatis has played in 11 finals and was a former Top 10 player, a Grand Slam finalist. So I feel happy that I won against a great player in a final that I hope kept the fans on the edge of their seats until the very end. I could not be happier.”
The 27-year-old improved his year’s winning record to 44-20, registering his second consecutive win over Baghdatis in singles encounters. Their last battle took place in Los Angeles in 2010, when Tipsarevic registered a straight
sets victory 6-3, 7-5, in the quarter-final of the tournament. His Sunday’s win over the Cypriot levelled the head-to-head series between the two men at 2-2.
Both men fired nine aces apiece in the contest but the break point conversions from the Serb proved to be his critical success factor in the competition. Tipsarevic nailed five of his 11 break opportunities, while Baghdatis registered
three of his 11 in the contest to finish on the losing side in the end. The third seed faced limited resistance in the opener and two serve breaks from his sealed the first set to his name at 6-4.
A more competitive second set was witnessed, with Baghdatis fighting desperately to stay alive in the contest. Tipsarevic stung a crucial break point in the 11th game of the set to close out the competition in his favour
and lifted the gold for the first time his career.
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