Tipsarevic tops Baghdatis in Malaysia for first title

Published November 20, 2014

Janko Tipsarevic earned his first set triumph over Marcos Baghdatis in the final of the Malaysian Open.

Tipsarevic posted a 6-4, 7-5 win on Sunday to become the 10th first-time winner on the ATP Tour this year. He had been 0-4 in finals, including losses this year to Juan Martin del Potro in Delray Beach and Andreas Seppi in Eastbourne.

"I played some great tennis this week and I hope I can keep it up for the rest of the season," said Tipsarevic, who is currently ranked 17th and had been the only member of the top-20 without a tournament title.

The third-seeded Serb dropped the first three games of the match, but battled back with breaks of serve in the fifth and seventh games. He then opened a 4-1 cushion in the second set, but Baghdatis stormed back and a break of serve evened it at 5-5.

Tipsarevic regrouped and broke Baghdatis for a 6-5 edge before holding in the final game to seal it.

Baghdatis hadn't lost a set en route to the final and fell to 4-7 all-time in title matches. It was the Cypriot's first final of 2011. His best previous finish this year was a semifinal loss to Ivan Dodig at the Wimbledon tuneup in Den Bosch.

"It wasn't my day today," lamented Baghdatis, who fell to 2-2 lifetime against Tipsarevic. "Janko played great. He deserved to win. He was more aggressive. You just have to say 'well done' to Janko for a great week and a great year overall."

Tipsarevic, who pocketed a first prize of $155,000, had his best Grand Slam finish this year with a quarterfinal loss to fellow Serb Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open last month.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/tipsarevic-tops-baghdatis-in-malaysia-for-first-title