Former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis made a convincing 6-1, 6-1 start at the Malaysian Open on Tuesday, with the Cypriot sixth seed running down Japan's Kei Nishikori. "It was a great match, I played some played good tennis," said Baghdatis, who next plays Colombian Santiago Giraldo. "I'm happy I won. He's (Nishikori) is a talented opponent but I played well and didn't give him any chances."
Baghdatis has lifted his ranking from 42nd to 18th this season thanks to eight quarter-finals or better. But his outing in the US Open was a disaster, ending in the first round with defeat against Arnaud Clement. Baghdatis said he had not yet started thinking about his next match, preferring to savour his first round victory.
"I'm happy, I'll think about the second round before the match with my coach. I'll then find a solution to win." In other first-round matches, Milos Raonic, the 19-year-old Canadian, claimed his first victory at the ATP level when he beat the experienced Russian Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 (8/6), 6-3.
Raonic, ranked 237th, will face the seventh seeded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky at the Putra stadium in the tournament's second round. "I played my best tennis in a while today," said Raonic. "I had a good summer and I feel I play well indoors. It's a weight off my shoulders. I got a bit tight, at the end but it's great to have this win." Raonic had lost in three previous matches at the top level, losing in the summer of 2009 at home in Montreal and this year in the first round at the Canadian Masters and US Open.
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