Story courtesy: James Buddell, ATPWorldTour.com
Adrenaline courses through Marcos Baghdatis’ veins each morning at the prospect of becoming Cyprus’ first Olympic medallist.
On Tuesday, he moved one step closer to realising his dream at the London 2012 Olympics Tennis Event after he beat No. 16 seed Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 6-4 in 74 minutes for a place in the third round.
"Adrenaline is still high,” admitted Baghdatis. “Even in the morning, I wake up and my eyes are very big. I want to keep going. It's very important and I'm feeling great. I'll give it a shot.”
Baghdatis did not face a break point and struck 14 aces in a performance full of confidence. He broke Gasquet’s serve at 4-all in both sets to set up a meeting with third-seeded Briton Andy Murray.
"I was serving pretty well,” said Baghdatis. “I think I played aggressively, I didn't let Richard play his game and it paid off. It was very emotional [at the end].
“I want to thank whoever is up there for giving me the chance to be part of this life. I'm very happy I won today. It was very tough. I'm in the Round of 16 at an Olympic event and that's an incredible thing for me. I hope I keep going."
Play was suspended at 1:23 p.m. local time due to a rain shower. Olympic officials then took the decision to close the retractable Centre Court roof to allow Murray to play Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.
Murray broke serve in the first game of each set to record a 6-2, 6-4 victory in 61 minutes. The Scot won all 16 of his second serve points in an aggressive performance, which included six aces and 26 winners.
“I played well today,” said Murray, who will partner Laura Robson in the mixed doubles event. “He didn’t start the match that well. Then he definitely played better in the second set. I had the momentum for most of the match. Once I got a break up in the second [set], it was important to stay focused, because I was getting a lot of free points from my serve.”
Said Baghdatis, on meeting Murray, "I've played Andy two times on Wimbledon's Centre Court. For sure he's a great player. He will have the upperhand against me, but I'll just go out there and give it a try. You never know. I have nothing to lose.”
