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http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/photos/imagepages/2003-09-07/200309071062967046249.html
Baghdatis Not a Factor for Strong Tsonga
by Elizabeth Schatz
Sunday, September 7, 2003
Marcos Baghdatis, the US Open Junior No. 1, showed up to his final
match with a sweatshirt on, headphones in his ears and hair hanging
in front of his face. Meanwhile his opponent, No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
of France, and the chair umpire waited at the net, as Baghdatis pulled
a shirt out of his bag, changed, tucked away his CD player, adjusted a
fresh headband on his brow and finally walked over for the toss.
Maybe his late preparations were an omen; the 18-year-old Cyprian never
quite got in the zone. He took home a runner-up trophy for the second
year in a row, losing to Tsonga in straight sets.
Tsonga, who resembles a young Muhammad Ali, used the word “big” a lot
to describe his first Grand Slam title – mostly because his English is
limited, but the word is more than apt. He won 83 percent of his first
serve points with a serve that would easily intimidate players in the
men’s draw.
“Today, I play big tennis,” said Tsonga after the match. “I serve
very good. It was very consistent. A big serve, a big forehand.”
He plans on being in the men’s tournament next year.
“Yes, of course,” he said emphatically.
Three days of steady rain caused all kinds of scheduling problems in
the men’s and women’s tournament, and the juniors were no different.
At one point, players were shuttled off-site to contend matches in Port
Chester, N.Y. Although they moved back to the USTA National Tennis
Center, players had to play their quarterfinal and semifinal matches
in one day on Saturday.
Tsonga said his fitness level, known to be exceptional, helped him finish
off Baghdatis without losing steam. “For me, (my fitness) was an
advantage. I have a very good physique,” he said.
After Tsonga upset the No. 2 and 3 seeds, no one should have been
surprise that he would be a factor against Baghdatis, who is the
reigning Juniors Australian Open Champion and beat Tsonga in the
semifinals there. The young Cyprian has an odd pre-serve routine
of bouncing the ball four times with his racket, sending the third
ball through his legs, then bouncing the ball four times with his
hand. It gives Baghdatis a smooth rhythm to his serve and can unsettle
his opponents waiting on the other side of the net. But Tsonga was
unmoved. He eventually took the wind out of Baghdatis, getting to
every crafty volley and cross-court shot and sending them back
sprinkled with a dose of hot sauce.
The Baghdatis and Tsonga pairing is one of free-spirited versus stoic.
While Baghdatis showed up for the award ceremony with a Cyprus flag
tied around his neck, the clean-cut Tsonga rarely cracked a smile all
afternoon – that is, of course, until Baghdatis’ ball hit the net on
the final point, giving him the win 7-6, 6-3.
Unfortunately, Tsonga wouldn’t be able to enjoy his victory by
sightseeing in New York City. “I leave for France in three hours,”
he said, laughing, before scurrying back to the locker room.
See you next year.
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