Former World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis Added to “Team World” ATP Champions Tour Team Event
SEPTEMBER 6, 2019, DELRAY BEACH, FL – Today, the Delray Beach Open (https://yellowtennisball.com/) announced that former world no. 8 Marcos Baghdatis has been added to Team World for their ATP Champions Tour legends event. Joining Tommy Haas (former world No. 2) and David Ferrer (former world No. 3), he will round out the international squad’s line-up in an action-packed holiday weekend of “Americas vs. World” team matches.
The former world No. 8 Baghdatis (CYP) is making his first appearance in Delray Beach after playing his final match on the ATP Tour at Wimbledon this past July. Earlier in his career, Baghdatis boldly announced his arrival to the game in 2006 when making the Australian Open finals at 20-years-old after beating Roddick, Ljubicic and Nalbandian in five set matches to make him the youngest Australian Open finalist since Moya (in 1997) and the lowest ranked Grand Slam finalist (No. 54) since Safin (No. 86 in 2004). Baghdatis ascended to the top ten in 2006 after reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon and, throughout his career, the Cypriot won titles in Beijing (2006), Zagreb (2007), Stockholm (2009) and Sydney (2010). Boasting wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Baghdatis holds a 47-4 Davis Cup singles record with an all-time record 36-match singles win streak from 2003 through 2016. A former world No. 1 ranked junior player, Baghdatis won the 2003 Australian Open junior title and reached the US Open junior finals in 2002 and 2003.
“I am very much looking forward to coming to Delray Beach in February to compete in the ATP Champions Tour event! Throughout my career, I have always loved playing in South Florida and I am excited to see all the local fans that have such a great appreciation for our sport,” said Marcos Baghdatis. “The player field looks to be a very strong one, so I am looking forward to competing and being a part of this amazing event.”
Getting underway President’s Day Weekend on Friday, February 14, 2020, Team World’s Baghdatis, Haas and Ferrer will battle Team Americas – soon to be announced – to defend Team World’s 2019 title in a format consisting of six singles matches and two doubles matches in total. The first team to win five matches wins the ATP Champions Event. The global ATP Champions Tour stars an elite group of players who have retired from the ATP Tour where they achieved a world #1 ranking, were a Grand Slam finalist or a singles player on a Davis Cup-winning team.
Making his second appearance in Delray Beach on the ATP Champions Tour, Haas (GER) was the 2019 Captain of Team World and led them to a 5-3 victory over Team Americas, winning all three of his singles matches. During his career on the ATP Tour, Haas captured 15 singles titles and finished eight seasons ranked in the top ten. A familiar and favorite face to tennis fans around the world, Haas boasts career singles wins over Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi, defeating them at least three times each.
“Last year was special, to be able to win the ATP Champions Tour title with a team after winning an individual title here when I was on Tour,” commented Tommy Haas. “I’ve always had such great respect and feedback from the fans in Delray Beach. The tournament team and the town really know how to make it a special experience for us players.”
Teaming up with Haas and Baghdatis will be former No. 3 singles player David Ferrer (ESP) who retired this year in May. Reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and finals of Roland Garros in 2013, Ferrer reached five other Grand Slam semifinals and advanced to the quarterfinals or better at ten straight Grand Slam events starting with the 2012 Australian Open through the 2014 Roland Garros. Throughout his career, Ferrer finished seven seasons ranked in the top ten and was ranked in the top ten for 292 straight weeks from 2010-2016. In addition, Ferrer made seven appearances at the Nitto ATP Finals defeating Nadal en route to the finals in his 2007 debut. Ferrer owns 27 career singles titles, boasts a 28-5 Davis Cup record helping Spain win the titles in 2008, 2009 and 2011, and finished fourth in doubles at the 2012 London Olympics.
“Adding Baghdatis, after Haas and Ferrer, this is not just going to be entertaining, this will be tennis at an extraordinary level. I think the players in our ATP 250 event might even be watching this match-up,” added Mark Baron, Tournament Director. “It’s very rewarding to see these guys continuing their careers here in Delray Beach. They’ve really responded to the team matches and the support from the City and fans.”
The 10-day 2020 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com will begin with the ATP Champions Tour team-event and a Coco Gauff exhibition match over President’s Day weekend (Friday, Feb. 14 – Sunday, Feb. 16), continue with the ATP 250 singles and doubles draws starring Juan Martin del Potro, Kei Nishikori and the Bryan Brothers starting on Monday, Feb. 17 and conclude with the ATP 250 finals on Sunday, Feb. 23.
