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Baghdatis, unseeded, advances to Australian Open final
(Bloomberg)
Updated: 2006-01-27 09:14 Skai Radio in Athens reported from Cyprus that Baghdatis, who won the
Australian Open boys' title in 2003, was excused military service until whenever
he wanted. Cyprus, a Mediterranean island with a population of 770,000, is home
to just 12 tennis clubs and about 50 courts.
"It's rare for a small country to produce world-class athletes,'' Christos
Solomonides, a 51-year-old electronics engineer, said in a phone interview from
the capital Nicosia. ``The whole Hellenic world is happy."
Nalbandian, a 24-year-old Argentine who defeated Federer to win last year's
season-ending Masters Cup, was seeking a second Grand Slam final appearance
after losing to Australian Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2002.
"I had a lot of chances to win the match," Nalbandian, who said he was
struggling with an abdominal injury, told reporters. ``I can't understand why I
missed these chances. It's tough."
Clijsters Injury
Third-seeded Mauresmo of France earlier advanced to the Jan. 28 final when
Kim Clijsters quit their semifinal injured. Clijsters's Belgian countrywoman
Henin-Hardenne, the 2004 champion and No. 8 seed, rallied to beat fourth-seeded
Russian Maria Sharapova in three sets.
Mauresmo, seeking a first Grand Slam title, was leading 5- 7, 6-2, 3-2 when
Clijsters, the U.S. Open champion, slipped and hurt her right ankle.
Mauresmo, a former top-ranked player, had reached one final in 31 previous
Grand Slams, losing to Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open.
Henin-Hardenne, 23, has won four Grand Slam titles and trails only Serena
Williams (seven), Venus Williams (five) and Hingis (five) among current singles
players.
"For all those years I've been working hard, adjusting a few things here and
there," Mauresmo told reporters." I'm in the final right now. I don't want to
stop there."
Clijsters, playing her second match in 24 hours after beating Hingis in three
sets, took painkillers for a hip injury in earlier rounds.
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