Tennis-X Notes: Baghdatis Forgetful, Roddick Cranky

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Marcos Baghdatis on forgetting to acknowledge Roger Federer in his on-court speech after the Australian Open final: "Yeah, yeah. I forgot a lot of people, you know. I was not so -- I don't know. I didn't know what to say. I was a bit lost. I just want to say, Roger, I mean, I want to congratulate him because he played a great tournament. He's a great athlete, great sportsman. He just gives a lot to the game. He's so charismatic. He's just playing unbelievable. It's good to have him around. It's a pleasure to play against him and it's a pleasure to be in the changing room with him." And on his coach's advice after the loss: "He told me doesn't matter. I mean, he told me it's tough. He knows it's tough. But, I mean, it doesn't really matter because I'm 20 years old and he told me that I have a lot in front of me to do and it's not finish. After I start crying and he just told me, "Keep on crying." And that's all."...Jiri Novak has yet to step on a court in 2006 after a foot injury...You think Marcos Baghdatis will somehow get out of his country's compulsory military service? Yeah, you'd think the government would somehow find a way around that...Tennisworld's Peter Bodo with something you don't see a lot of, some Brad Gilbert props: "A hat-tip to Gilbert for doing fantastic work here in Melbourne. Brad isn't the most beloved figure in tennis (some Europeans recoil in horror at the very mention of his name). A lot of people find him grating and vulgar; there's no question that with his perpetual stubble, square-jaw, fondness for cliche and American sports jargon, and absolute mastery of baseball and Wall Street minutia, he qualifies as some kind of archetypal, appallingly extroverted and unselfconscious Homo Jocko Americanus. Don't be fooled. Gilbert's knowledge of the game is breathtaking; he's the game's mad professor, TennisWorld's idiot savant. It's easy to forget that because he's so well-known, and gets more than a fair share of exposure."...Andre Agassi, playing his first match of the year Monday night in Delray Beach: "If we're talking about winning a Grand Slam, I'd need a few things to fall my way. But I consider so many other things big. For me, playing in front of a small group of people, in a tough match, working hard at 36 -- I don't take those times for granted. I find myself getting to enjoy the icing on the cake quite often now. I'm at an age I can appreciate what these opportunities mean, and what I can do, and how many people benefit. There's a lot of wins out there for me, personally, regardless of the score."