Indian Wells, March 17: Marcos Baghdatis upset top-ranked Roger Federer 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (4) in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open, beating the Swiss star for the first time in seven meetings.
A joyous Baghdatis bent down and kissed the court after closing out yesterday’s tight contest in which Federer blew three match points.
Federer lost for just the second time in 13 matches this year in his first tournament since winning his 16th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
Federer held a match point on Baghdatis’ serve in the 12th game, but he netted a backhand for deuce. Baghdatis went up and then forced the tiebreaker when Federer mis-hit a backhand.
—-Agencies