Marcos Baghdatis rallies past Dustin Brown in the quarter-finals – BMW Open 2012
Eighth seed, Marcos Baghdatis, bounced back after getting thrashed in the first set to beat 159th ranked, Dustin Brown, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the round of 16 at the BMW Open in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday. It took the Cypriot an hour and 47 minutes
to complete the win.
Brown was by far the more dominant player in the opening set, as he allowed Baghdatis to win only one game, breaking the Cypriot three times and consolidating on all of them to triumph 6-1.
Backed by his home crowd, Brown was above average on his serve, pounding a couple of aces and snatching seven of the 10 first delivery points. The German surprised Baghdatis by attacking latter’s first serves, clinching 14 of the 22 points on them. The 27-year-old
put away both break threats he came across and utilised three of the four opportunities he got.
Brown and Baghdatis did not allow each other to break in the first four games of the second set, evening out the score at 2-2. The Cypriot struck at that moment and held his following serve to take a 4-2 lead. Baghdatis capitalised on the single breakthrough
and closed it 6-4.
The Cypriot hit an ace but maintained a low first serve percentage of 46, winning eight of the 11 points on them in the second set. Nevertheless, he gave an extraordinary performance on the second deliveries, converting amazingly 12 of the 13 of them into
points.
Baghdatis snatched a break in the very first game of the decider and won his next serve, gaining a 2-0 lead. The Cypriot maintained his advantage throughout the set, holding all of serves to seal it 6-4.
Ranked 39th in the world, Baghdatis, fired three aces and 58 percent of the first deliveries. He had an excellent conversion rate, as he bagged 11 of the 15 first and nine of the 11 second serve points. The Cypriot did not face any break point
and converted one of the two he received in the final set.
Talking to the reporters in the post match interview, a delighted Baghdatis said, "I was very pleased with the win. It was a very tough one. Dustin played a very good first set. He's a very unpredictable player; I didn't know what to expect. I kept pushing
and I'm very, very happy I went through because it's a great mental fight."
The Cypriot is drawn to face home favourite, Tommy Haas, in the quarter-final.
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