Lifted by his army of fans, popular Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis has overcome a leg injury to defeat a determined Thomas Johansson in an absorbing first-round Australian Open encounter on Vodafone Arena.
Baghdatis, who reached the 2006 final before going down to Roger Federer, won 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 3-6 6-3 to advance to the second round where he will meet the winner of the Ernests Gulbis-Marat Safin showdown.
The 15th seed received treatment for a leg injury at the beginning of the third and looked in deep trouble when Johansson broke twice to take the match into a fourth set.
But showing the fighting qualities which have become his trademark, Baghdatis responded to the challenge and closed out victory in the fourth set after more than three hours on court.
The 22-year-old bowed out of the 2007 Australian Open in the second round and is desperate to go further a year on.
But his progress may depend on the extent on his leg injury.
