Cypriot tennis great, Marcos Baghdatis managed to get through to the third round of the US Open, but was sadly bested by world number nine, Stanislas Wawrinka.

Famously, in the Australian Open Baghdatis smashed four racquets in a fit of rage when he was up against Wawrinka in 2011. This time, with more control, the Cypriot managed to push to four sets, but bowed out with 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(7). Initially starting strong with 3-2 lead in the first set, Wawrinka made a consistent comeback. Despite the onslaught from the other side of the net, Baghdatis managed to improve, cutting his unforced errors as the match continued.
As temperatures soared, Wawrinka finished the game in three hours and 31 minutes.

“In the third round against Stan, I started the match a bit too thoughtful,” Baghdatis said on his website.

“Even though I was a break up in the first set, I was too passive with my backhand and gave him time to play and he dictated the game.

“In the third set though I just told myself to just relax a bit and hit the ball a bit harder. I started to get control of the points and gave him less time too. I played two great sets but unfortunately lost the fourth and the match.”

Baghdatis has been proud of his grand slam performance, showing strong improvements after back to back losses in Montreal and Cincinnati.

Baghdatis will return to action on 16 September at the St. Petersburg Open, an ATP World Tour 250 tournament. He follows that with visits to Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Shanghai.

The Cypriot has slipped to 53rd on the ATP charts, and has a win-loss record of 13-16 in 2013.

Kyrgios defiant but bested by Ferrer

Australian youngster Nick Kyrgios has put up a brave fight in the opening round of the US Open, playing against fourth seed David Ferrer.

Kyrgios, 18, was defiant in the opening set and gave Ferrer a run for his money, only faltering in the last two with unforced errors. Ferrer took the win in three sets, beating Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

As the youngest player in the men’s singles, it was Kyrgios’ second grand slam appearance of the year, after he made it to the second round of the French Open.

Kyrgios’ attention will now turn to trying to earn a Davis Cup berth next month.

Kyrgios will be part of a five-man team to play against Poland and he will travel to Munich in the coming weeks to train alongside Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic.

His current world ranking is 214, up from 838 at the start of the year.