Marcos Baghdatis made history for Cyprus during his time on the tennis tour, and he is now trying to bring back the “family” and “community” feeling to the sport in his home country through his academy.
During an illustrious professional career spanning from 2003 to 2019, Baghdatis won four ATP Tour singles titles and was a runner-up at a further 10 events.
The Cypriot peaked at No 8 in the rankings in August 2006 after reaching the Australian Open final and the Wimbledon semi-finals that season.
Marcos Baghdatis speaks to Tennis365 about his tennis academy
- Speaking exclusively to Tennis365, Marcos Baghdatis has discussed his tennis academy, which opened at the City of Dreams resort in Limassol, Cyprus last year
- Baghdatis divulged that he created the academy after feeling that the sense of family he experienced at his tennis club while growing up had been lost in Cyprus
- The Cypriot revealed his role at the academy involves “a bit of everything”, including advising young players
The grand opening of the Marcos Baghdatis Tennis Academy in Limassol, Cyprus was marked by an exhibition match between Baghdatis and tennis icon Andre Agassi. Agassi defeated Baghdatis in an epic five-set match in the second round of the 2006 US Open.
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The academy features 12 hard courts and offers coaching to players of all levels aged five and above.
Baghdatis and his wife, Karolina Sprem Baghdatis — a former WTA Tour player who reached a career-high ranking of world No 17 — both work at the academy.
The academy marked its one-year anniversary with an exhibition event that saw Marcos and Karolina joined by Russian tennis legends Marat Safin and Dinara Safina.
Marcos Baghdatis reveals why he opened his academy
In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked Baghdatis about the reasons for opening his academy and what the goals are.
“I always as a kid loved being in the tennis club and spending time, and I felt it was kind of my second family,” Baghdatis explained.
“And I think over the years, those moments, those things, kind of left Cyprus. It was not anymore about the community, about the family, about the tennis club.
“And yeah, I wanted to bring it back a bit to Cyprus, and that’s the reason, with the City of Dreams, with the owners, we decided — they liked the vision and we wanted to bring that back.
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“And of course there are some other offerings, it’s not only as a family, but also we want to bring people from other countries from around the world, to make some holiday camps, especially with the resort, with the facilities that the resort can offer.
“The City of Dreams is amazing, so I think combining the two together could be a nice little holiday for some people here at the island. Great weather, great gastronomy, great beaches, great facilities at the hotel, and I think it could be a great thing for people to come on holidays.”
Marcos Baghdatis speaks about his role at the academy
Asked about his role at the academy, Baghdatis explained: “My role at the academy, right now I’m doing a bit of everything (laughs).
“When I say a bit of everything: managing the coaches, managing the staff there and trying to find solutions to some challenges that we get throughout the day.
“But I do follow the kids of the academy, I do stick with the parents, I do consult a bit what they need to do — in my opinion. I give always my truthful opinion to the people, to the parents, to the kids. That’s kind of my main role.
“But on the other hand, I have also Karolina, my better half, my wife — also was an ex-professional tennis player — helping me a lot with the day-to-day stuff. And we have a great team of staff and coaches, so cannot be happier.
“For now, until everybody gets the hang of it, how it works, what’s the mentality, what’s the methodology of me and Karolina in the academy, we need to be there and make sure everything runs smoothly.”
How to visit The Marcos Baghdatis Tennis Academy
The Marcos Baghdatis Tennis Academy is based at City of Dreams, Mediterranean, a five-star resort in Limassol, Cyprus.
The City of Dreams Mediterranean resort in Limassol, Cyprus
Tennis fans looking to get away from it all, can combine a luxurious stay, year-round sunshine and tennis coaching in state-of-the-art facilities with one of the resort’s Serve and Stay tennis packages.
For more information, visit the City of Dreams, Mediterranean website.
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The post The inside story on Marcos Baghdatis’ tennis academy in Cyprus’ stunning City of Dreams resort appeared first on Tennis365.
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