At the turn of the millennium, the ATP circuit featured enormous talent. Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were among the most prominent, but Roger Federer was starting to make waves, as was Andy Roddick. A few years later, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic joined, ushering in a dominant era in tennis. One player who left his mark, despite never winning a Grand Slam, was Marcos Baghdatis.
The Cyprus native became the first player from his country to reach a Grand Slam final, achieving the feat at the 2006 Australian Open, where he fell to Roger Federer. He also rose into the Top 10, reaching a career-high ranking of World No. 8 in August 2006.
Speaking with Tennis365, Marcos Baghdatis chose the most difficult rival of his career: âI would pick Novak Djokovic, simply because I never beat him, but it is very difficult to choose. And I donât say the Big Three were the only toughest opponents, but there were many others,â he explained.
âThat generation of Andy Murray, Rafa, Roger, Novak⊠of course, those were the four best players who dominated the sport for many years in which I played, but behind them, there were players like Juan Martin del Potro, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, and many other players, I think, of a very high level,â the Cypriot, who won four ATP titles, added.
Novak Djokovic shakes hands with Marcos Baghdatis after a Wimbledon game. (Getty Images)
What sets Djokovic apart from Nadal and Federer
Marcos Baghdatis has a long history of facing the members of the Big Three. The Cypriot played Rafael Nadal ten times, only achieving a single victory while he faced Roger Federer in eight opportunities, recording also one win.
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However, against Novak Djokovic, they faced each other eight times, and Baghdatis couldnât secure a single victory. During the interview, he explained that, unlike Nadal and Federer, after a massive loss against Djokovic, he felt that he could never beat the Serbian throughout his career. And that is exactly what happened.
âWhenever I played against Novak, the matches were very even. That is my opinion. Perhaps I am wrong, but what do I remember? Once he gave me a good beating, and that was at Indian Wells. It was a 6-1, 6-3. I left the court and felt like he had given me a lesson. I never felt that way with any other player,â Baghdatis said.
âI never felt that way with Roger or Rafa, even when I was younger and played against Roger, I always thought: âNext time I can beat him.â I always felt that, but with Novak, I didnât have that feeling, especially after that match,â he concluded.
