Roddick Routed by Unseeded Baghdatis at Australian Open

Andy Roddick said his mantra for 2006 was to be more aggressive, but the American's tentative baseline performance combined with the loss of his formerly-dominant forehand resulted in a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to unseeded 20-year-old Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the fourth round Sunday at the Australian Open.

The match was marked off the ground by Baghdatis' ability to step in and control the court during rallies while Roddick stubbornly attempted to out-rally the Cypriot with consistency rather than pulling the trigger -- finding himself pushed further and further back on the baseline.

Roddick looked ready to overpower the diminutive Cypriot after almost recording a bagel set in the second to even things at one-set all, but Baghdatis routinely returned Roddick's service delivery and duped the American into long baseline rallies where his superior court overage and positioning proved the difference.

"I'm just in my own world and playing great tennis," said the No. 54-ranked Baghdatis, rooted on by a rowdy contingent of singing, chanting Greeks in Melbourne. "I think it's one of the best matches of my life."

Roddick's exit before the quarterfinals in Melbourne follows on the heels of his first-round upset at his last slam at the 2005 US Open, firing speculation that big changes are on the horizon in the Roddick camp. "Firing" being the key word.

"I didn't play that badly -- plus eight in winners to errors -- I looked and I won more total points," said Roddick, whose point total included only two of nine breakpoint opportunities. "I think I would have beaten most people today but credit where it's due, he played a very good match. The shots he was able to come up with were very good. Maybe I was a bit spacey out there. I wasn't totally on top of things."

The American also insisted he stuck with his aggressive plan throughout the match.

"A lot of the times, a lot of winners he hit were from passing shots behind the baseline," Roddick said. "We were talking about that backhand. A lot of times I was in control of the point, and he came up with the goods. A couple times I was sloppy at the wrong moments. That's the way it is."

No. 4 seed David Nalbandian had a one-set hiccup against No. 16 Tommy Robredo, defeating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 on Sunday, while No. 7 Ivan Ljubicic also had a comfortable 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 10 Thomas Johnasson, evening their career head-to-head at 3-3.

"I'm confident every time I play good, and I play good today so I feel much better than the beginning of the tournament. So I am very happy," Nalbandian said. "I know that all the players are tough right now. I mean, Roddick lost, but Baghdatis is a great player, so is gonna be tough with any one or both. But first I have to think of [Fabrice Santoro]."

The unseeded Frenchman Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro continued his torrid upset run Sunday, ousting No. 11 seed David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5, 7-5. It is the Frenchman's first Melbourne quarterfinal berth after his fourth-round effort in 1999.

"I said a few times in the past three, four years, that I keep playing tennis because I like the game," said Santoro, who wept with joy at the end of the match, reaching a personal landmark. "I achieved almost everything I was expected, except a grand slam quarterfinal. I was thinking about this, I was working hard for that."

Doubles winners on the day included (1) the Bryan brothers (d. (14) Kerr/Parrott), (4) Hanley/Ullyett (d. Czechs (16) Berdych/Suk), and (2) Bjorkman/Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (d. Argentines Acasuso/Prieto).

Scheduled for Monday fourth-round play are (5) Davydenko vs. (12) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, (1) Federer vs. Haas, (21) Kiefer vs. Chela, and (25) Grosjean vs. Mathieu in an all-French match-up.

"I've had some difficulties with him in the past," said Federer of Haas. "But I'm looking toward to the match because it's going to be different. It might look like a walk in the park, but it's definitely not going to be that."

Doubles highlights Monday are (5) Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro/Zimonjic vs. Poland's Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, (7) Damm/Paes vs. (11) Bhupathi/Moodie, and (8) Aspelin/Perry vs. Austrians (12) Knowle/Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer.