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Baghdatis Beats Belgian, Bags Stockholm

Marcos Baghdatis (and a very bridesmaidly-looking Olivier Rochus) via d.yimg.com

Marcos Baghdatis (and a very bridesmaidly-looking Olivier Rochus) via d.yimg.com

It may be about as small an ATP title as there is, but winning any ATP tournament this year was something Marcos Baghdatis couldn't have dreamed possible. 

In a battle of unseeded players, Baghdatis beat Olivier Rochus 6-1, 7-5 to win the title at the If Stockholm Open in front of a lively crowd that had expected to see their Swede Robin Soderling play on the final Sunday of the event.  Before the match, the guy doing the commentary for the final described the match-up of Baghdatis vs. Rochus as "very watchable," which is damning with faint praise if I ever heard it.

But he was right, the match was not impossible to watch.  Rochus' speed and defense provided an entertaining foil for Baghdatis' aggressive but stationary style, making for some pretty high quality play throughout the match.  Rochus had a 40-0 lead on his serve at 5-5 in the second set before taking his foot off the gas seemingly, letting Baghdatis win nine of the final ten points to take the title in straight sets.

The Kungliga Tennishallen allegedly has a capacity for 5,000 spectators, but it looked much much smaller on TV.  But not  in an entirely bad way.  Fans stomped their feet on the bleachers and clapped rhythmically before big points constantly, giving the final an appealingly high school basketball-esque ambiance.  

With the title Baghdatis moves back into the top fifty, which is quite a feat for someone who didn't even bother to enter US Open qualifying only two months ago.

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