Australian Open
Ferrer thrashes Baghdatis
2013-01-18 14:07
Melbourne - Spain's fourth seed David Ferrer
ended the Australian Open hopes of Marcos Baghdatis on Friday, thrashing
the Cypriot to make the fourth round.
Ferrer, coming off a career-best season, won 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena and next faces Japanese 16th seed Kei Nishikori.
The
consistent and super-fit Spaniard was a class above the 28th-seeded
Baghdatis, who was a Melbourne Park finalist in 2006 but has never
revisited those heights.
Ferrer, elevated to number four seed
following the withdrawal of last year's finalist Rafael Nadal, used his
superior service game and sizzling groundstrokes to unsettle the Cypriot
early on.
He got a quick break in the first set and while
Baghdatis managed to claw back and keep himself in touch, once the
opening set was lost he never looked like recovering.
Ferrer, who
made the quarters here last year and the semis in 2011, drew 42 unforced
errors out of his erratic opponent to close out the match in just 1hr
57 mins.