Marcos Baghdatis returned to action with a victory over Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6(3), 7-5, in the first round of the Japan Open in Tokyo yesterday morning.
This was the first match for the Cypriot since losing to another Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second round of the US Open.
Baghdatis is currently ranked 46th at the South African Airways ATP Rankings after recording a 10-spot drop over the last week.
The 27-year-old will now take on the winner of the match between the fourth-seeded Argentinean Juan Monaco and Bulgarian qualifier Grigor Dimitrov.
This is Baghdatis’ third appearance at the hard court tournament in Tokyo, highlighted by reaching the quarterfinals on his debut in 2005, when he lost to Croatian Mario Ancic.
Cyprus Mail