An emotional Marcos Baghdatis kissed the court after securing passage to the second round at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a straight-sets win over Viktor Troicki on Monday.
The Cypriot, who made a surprise run to the final here two years ago, battled through a 70-minute first set before cruising in the second to post a 7-5, 6-2 over his Serbian opponent.
The former Australian Open runner-up, now ranked 112 in the world following a difficult 2017 packed with foot and back injuries, next plays either Thomas Fabbiano or Filip Krajinovic.
“To play in front of your kids is the best thing that can happen to you,” he said on court as his wife, former top-20 player Karolina Sprem, and their two daughters, Zahara and India, watched on from the stands.
Baghdatis, who received a wildcard into the event and is competing in Dubai for a seventh time, saved two of the three break points he faced against Troicki and converted four of the 13 break opportunities he had throughout the one-hour 46-minute match.
“It means a lot to me. I’m honoured, it’s a pleasure, it’s the best place to be in the world right now,” the 32-year-old Baghdatis told the crowd.
Prior to the tournament, Baghdatis paid tribute to Sprem and their daughters, who are now aged five and two, and said the support he gets from his and his wife’s family makes all the difference.
“That motivates me every day to wake up and push through my limits and try to improve my body, my tennis and be the best I can be,” said the four-time ATP titlist.
Speaking of ex-world No. 17 Sprem, he added: “She not only understands me, she spends time with me on the court, there’s a different motivation for me when she’s on court and she helps me around. It’s just a nice motivation that I have and I feel grateful for that.”
When in doubt, kiss the court!
😍
Former finalist @marcosbaghdatis wraps up a 7-5 6-2 win over Viktor Troicki at #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/eiZWmhN9rM
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 26, 2018
Baghdatis took his head-to-head record against Troicki to 5-3. Monday’s clash was a rematch of their opener in Dubai two years ago and like most of their matches, it was a tight tug of war.
“I think it was a great battle in the first set. I mean, tough conditions. First match of the tournament, it’s always hard, especially when you play a player like Viktor that knows you so well, played so many times. We played doubles together. We are kind of friends. Yeah, it’s a bit tough,” said Baghdatis.
“But, yeah, I think I played very well in important points of the match. I came strong in the first game of the second set to make some great returns and break him there. I think, yeah, then it went like a routine. I started playing better and better, more confident.”
Earlier in the day, sixth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, who lost a heartbreaker to Andy Murray last year in the Dubai quarter-finals after holding seven match points, eased past French qualifier Gleb Sakharov 6-4, 6-2.
Last year’s semi-finalist Robin Haase had a tougher time against French qualifier Quentin Halys before coming through 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
