Speaking exclusively to Tennis365, Marcos Baghdatis has revealed why Novak Djokovic was the toughest opponent he faced in his career as he recalled a match in which he had no answer to the tennis icon’s level.
Baghdatis amassed a 349-274 record on the ATP Tour during a distinguished professional career spanning from 2003 to 2019.
During his time in the sport, Baghdatis competed with Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who are widely considered to be the three greatest players in tennis history.
The Cypriot, who won four singles titles, peaked at No 8 in the rankings in August 2006 after reaching the Australian Open final and Wimbledon semi-finals that year.
Baghdatis fell in four sets to Federer in the Australian Open title match and lost to Nadal in straight sets in the last four at Wimbledon.
He holds a 1-7 record against Federer and a 1-9 record against Nadal, having beaten both of the legendary duo in 2010; Federer in Indian Wells and Nadal in Cincinnati.
Baghdatis lost all eight of the matches he played against Djokovic, which were spread between 2007 and 2015. He won at least a set in five of the eight matches he played against Djokovic, including in all three of the pair’s Grand Slam encounters.
The best match Baghdatis and Djokovic contested was a five-set quarter-final thriller at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.
What Marcos Baghdatis said about his toughest opponent
In an interview with Tennis365, Baghdatis named Djokovic as his most difficult opponent and spoke about the strength of the era in which he played.
“I would pick Novak Djokovic, just because of the reason that I never beat him. But it’s very hard to pick,” said the Cypriot.
“And I’m saying that, not that they (the Big Three), were the only toughest opponents, but there were so many others.
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“That generation of Andy Murray, Rafa, Roger, Novak — of course those were the top four that were dominating the sport for many years that I was playing.
“But behind them, you had the likes of [Juan] del Potro, [Stan] Wawrinka, [Marin] Cilic, [David] Ferrer, you had [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga, you had [Tomas] Berdych, you had so many players, I think, that were at a very high level.”
What Marcos Baghdatis said about Novak Djokovic’s highest level
Asked to name the period in which Djokovic was performing at his peak level, Baghdatis highlighted the last match he played against the Serb — which he lost 1-6, 3-6 in the second round of the 2015 Indian Wells Masters.
“I think, whenever I played Novak, [they were] pretty close matches. That’s my thinking. Maybe I’m wrong, but what’s what I remember,” Baghdatis assessed.
“But I think I once got a nice beating out of him, and it was in Indian Wells. It was a 6-1, 6-2 (6-1, 6-3), I came off the court and I felt the guy gave me a lesson.
“And I never felt like that with another player. I never felt like that with Roger or with Rafa, even when I was younger and I played Roger, I always felt like, ‘Next time I can beat him’. I always felt that. But with Novak it was… I didn’t have that feeling, especially after that match.”
Djokovic compiled a staggering 82-6 record in 2015, winning 11 titles, including three Grand Slams, the ATP Finals and six Masters 1000 events.