The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : It's confident Baghdatis vs cool Federer

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Sunday, Jan 29, 2006

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Sport - Badminton

It's confident Baghdatis vs cool Federer

MELBOURNE: Marcos Baghdatis doesn't mind outlining his strengths on the tennis court.

``I'm really quick on the feet,'' the Australian Open men's finalist said on Saturday. ``I move very well. I have a great eye. I see the ball very fast. I can adapt to any players, any style of players.''

He'll need all of those and more when he takes on Roger Federer, who will bring a few strengths of his own to the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday as he attempts to win his seventh Grand Slam singles title. The 20-year-old Baghdatis is in his first Grand Slam final, a guy who didn't quite come out of nowhere in this tournament, but close. Ranked 54th before the tournament began, he had lost in the first round three weeks ago at Doha, Qatar — to Federer.

``I told him if I win the Australian Open, I'll stop tennis,'' Baghdatis said, smiling. ``He told me if I win it, he'll stop working.

``So that's funny. Here I am. I am in the final, so it's great. We'll see if we stop working after Sunday.''

`Home' crowd

Back home in Cyprus, thousands have stopped working to watch his matches and schools have set aside studies when he plays. The president has sent him greetings. In Melbourne, the city's large Greek population has adopted him as their own. With boisterous fans waving large Greek flags, Federer may find himself as the ``away'' player, but that doesn't concern him. ``The Australians are very, very fair when it comes to sportsmanship,'' Federer said. ``They love the sport here, so I expect a fair match.'' — AP

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