Mohamed Safwat looking forward to long overdue rematch with Marcos Baghdatis in Dubai

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  • Mohamed Safwat remembers the first time he played Marcos Baghdatis.

    It was in a Davis Cup tie between Egypt and Cyprus in Limassol in March 2010 and the Egyptian was 19 years old, ranked outside the top-1000, facing a 33rd-ranked Baghdatis, who had made the Australian Open final four years earlier.

    Safwat lost in straight sets to the Cypriot, but by the end of that season, the North African had halved his ranking and began his road to becoming Egypt’s top player.

    On Tuesday, Safwat takes on Baghdatis in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships first round, nine years on from that first meeting in Cyprus. It’ll be a battle between two wildcards, scheduled second on Court 1.

    “It was a very important match for me back then, because it made a twist in my career,” Safwat told Sport360 of his Davis Cup clash with Baghdatis.

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  • “I saw things differently after that and I started to develop and I won in the Futures, in the lower level so I hope Tuesday will also be the same.”

    Baghdatis, now 33 years old and ranked 128 in the world, was runner-up in Dubai in 2016, and is making his ninth appearance in the tournament. He is a popular figure at the event and was spotted exchanging flying kisses with a male security guard by the practice courts the other day.

    Safwat is making his second main draw appearance in the Emirates, and is looking to climb back into the top-200, after slipping to 218 earlier this month.

    Last year at Roland Garros, Safwat became the first Egyptian since 1996 to contest a Grand Slam main draw and the 28-year-old maintains that it was the highlight of his career so far.

    “Since last year I’ve been trying to improve my game, irrespective of results, winning or losing,” he told Sport360.

    “Last year was a good year for me, I’m trying to build on that this season. I’m trying to keep up what I’ve done last year and looking at ways to take it to the next level, to start winning more consistently at the Challengers, maybe I win my first Challenger title. I’m just trying to improve and the results will come. The more you develop yourself, the result will follow.”

    Marquee match-ups on Tuesday include a first-round showdown between third-seeded Marin Cilic and French entertainer Gael Monfils, while freshly-crowned Marseille champion Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Matthew Ebden of Australia.

    Safwat is making his second main draw appearance in the Emirates, and is looking to climb back into the top-200, after slipping to 218 earlier this month.

    Last year at Roland Garros, Safwat became the first Egyptian since 1996 to contest a Grand Slam main draw and the 28-year-old maintains that it was the highlight of his career so far.

    “Since last year I’ve been trying to improve my game, irrespective of results, winning or losing,” he said.

    “Last year was a good year for me, I’m trying to build on that this season. I’m trying to keep up what I’ve done last year and looking at ways to take it to the next level, to start winning more consistently at the Challengers, maybe I win my first Challenger title. I’m just trying to improve and the results will come. The more you develop yourself, the result will follow.”

    Marquee match-ups on Tuesday include a first-round showdown between third-seeded Marin Cilic and French entertainer Gael Monfils, while freshly-crowned Marseille champion Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Matthew Ebden of Australia.

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