Photo: Ron C. Angle
Marcos has been granted a wild card into the Sony Ericsson Open, which begins in Miami on March 25. It will be the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season.
Take a look at the press release below from the official website:
MIAMI, Fla. – The lone Cypriot on the ATP tour, Marcos Baghdatis, will be making his third appearance at the Sony Ericsson Open after receiving a wild card entry, the tournament announced this week.
“The Sony Ericsson Open is pleased to offer Marcos Baghdatis a wildcard into the 2009 tournament,” said tournament director Adam Barrett. “Baghdatis is a dynamic player who has fought through injuries to be able to perform his very best at this year’s event.”
Baghdatis, who made his Sony Ericsson Open debut in 2006, reached the third round of the event where he was defeated by Nikolay Davydenko. In 2007, he made a second-round appearance before falling to Juan Martin del Potro.
“I’m very excited to be playing in the Sony Ericsson Open. I'm grateful that Adam (Barrett) granted me with a wildcard to this prestigious event knowing I had a tough year in 2008 ruined by injuries. I love this tournament, its fans and the city. I look forward to competing against the other top players and hopefully have a successful tournament.”
Baghdatis experienced the best year of his career in 2006 reaching a career-high No. 8 world ranking. He made his first Grand Slam final appearance at the Australian Open, defeating Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and David Nalbandian before losing to World No. 1 Roger Federer. Later that year Baghdatis fell to runner-up Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon semifinals. Months later, Baghdatis captured his first ATP tour single title at Beijing.
Baghdatis joins an impressive player field including World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 13-time Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer, 2007 Sony Ericsson Open Champion Novak Djokovic, British star Andy Murray, American superstar Andy Roddick and defending Sony Ericsson Open Champion Nikolay Davydenko.
Tickets for all 22 sessions of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Sony Ericsson Open Ticket Office at (305) 442-3367 or by going online at www.sonyericssonopen.com.
