Baghdatis fights it out for Pune Marathas

SPIRITED WARRIOR: Marcos Baghdatis prevailed over Feliciano Lopez in thesecond tie-break to give Pune Marathas a win over Bangalore Raptors. Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Marcos Baghdatis held his nerve to prevail over Feliciano Lopez and take Pune Marathas to a second straight victory in the Champions Tennis League, at the KSLTA Stadium here on Thursday.

For the second time in as many matches, Pune lost the first two rubbers, but rallied to win the tie 25-24.

Baghdatis appeared to have sealed it when he broke Lopez in the seventh game of the decider, but the latter broke back to take the match into a tie-break. Baghdatis won that, and with the teams level on points, a second tie-break was played. The Cypriot calmly secured that too, applying the finishing touches yet again.

“I didn’t play very well today. I was defensive and the ball here flies a lot. Luckily, I served well in the tie-break and I fought till the end,” Baghdatis said afterwards. His performance today was illuminated by a couple of delicate lobs in the decider, under considerable pressure. “They were under pressure to win the last rubber. So actually, it was quite easy for me,” he added.

Baghdatis’s doubles victory, in partnership with Saketh Myneni, was no less impressive. The Indian player acquitted himself well, with his service standing out.

Earlier, Thomas Enqvist saw off Pat Cash in a hurry. The Australian was clearly less mobile than his opponent, and appeared to have issues with his back.

The duo of Lopez and Venus Williams then claimed the mixed doubles, and it appeared Raptors, which lost its opening fixture, would have a win against its name.

However, Agnieszka Radwanska, ranked six in the world, turned the tide with a defeat of Venus Williams, a big hit with the crowds here.

Baghdatis finished it off, smiling all the way through to the end.

The result: Bangalore Raptors lost to Pune Marathas 24-25 (Thomas Enqvist bt Pat Cash 6-3, Venus Williams & Feliciano Lopez bt Agnieszka Radwanska & Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, Venus Williams lost to Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, Feliciano Lopez & Ramkumar Ramanathan lost to Marcos Baghdatis & Saketh Myneni 4-6, Feliciano Lopez lost to Marcos Baghdatis 5-7 [3-5, 1-5]).