Australian Open 2008: Marcos Baghdatis in anti-Turks row

Probably this is one of the most controversial Grand Slam ever. Earlier of the week, we heard about clash between the police and some spectators who appears to be Greek supporters. Then Sania Mirza was accused of being disrespect to her national flag.

And now, Marcos Baghdatis who has just beaten Marat Safin, has landed himself in a bigger mess. He has been accused of being racist.

Want a kiss? I think people want him out instead.

Marcos Baghdatis has appeared in a YouTube video showed the Cypriot socializing with a group of Greek supporters called Hellas Fan Club (HFC). In the video, Baghdatis was holding a red flare above his head and chanting anti-Turkish slogans with others.



Baghdatis' home island of Cyprus has been a flashpoint for ethnic tensions since winning independence from Britain in 1960. Turkey invaded and occupied part of the island in 1974 in the wake of an attempted coup by Greek Cypriots.

Baghdatis said he just wanted the matter to go away.

"There has been a lot of coverage of me appearing in a video on youtube.com," he said in a statement.

"In that video from 2007, I was supporting the interest of my country, Cyprus, while protesting against a situation that is not recognised by the United Nations.

"Now I would like to concentrate on the tournament and ask everyone to respect that. I love the Australian Open and want to do well here."

The Hellas Fan Club, which is part of a worldwide network of supporters of Hellenic athletes, said the slogans chanted had been misconstrued.

"The 'Turks out of Cyprus' chant is directed towards the well documented illegal occupation of Cyprus, and is not directed towards citizens of the Turkish ethnic minority," it said in a statement.

Earlier in the tournament, Baghdatis defended the Greek supporters involved in the ugly scenes this week during a match between Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and Konstantinos Economidis of Greece.

The Australian Turkish Cypriot Cultural and Welfare Association on Friday demanded an apology from Baghdatis.

"This is a straight-forward provocation of our community and he is playing a different game to sport, he is not being a sportsman and should apologise," president Hakki Suleyman told reporters.

Baghdatis is scheduled to play Australian Lleyton Hewitt today.

Australian Open 2008: Looking at tennis in a different angle

This is the second part of my 'Tennis is NOT boring' post.

No wonder Andy Roddick lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round at the Australian Open. He is too busy to see the ball coming.

"Roddick, your habit is inappropriate on court!" Philipp Kohlschreiber is trying to teach Roddick a lesson. And he did.

Elena Dementieva showing off her sexy back. She is definitely too hot to handle by Shahar Peer, who lost to Dementieva in straight sets in the third round yesterday.

What the heck is Richard Gasquet doing? Oh no, tennis forums will be discussing about his gay rumour again!

When you win, everyone will be there and cheer for you. When you lost, you'll be crying alone. Try again next year, Mauresmo!

(All pictures from Getty Images)

Saddest song ever

If you are an up and coming singer and want to make an impact in the music industry, here is one tip for you. Make sure you have tearjerker songs in your album. Whether it's about being dumped, breakups, physical and substance abuse, frustration in life and feeling useless, etc, it all works.

I'm just wondering what are some of the saddest songs you ever heard that touches your heart. For me, the first song that came into mind is Simple Plan 'telling his dad he is not perfect but will try to make him proud'.

Sinead O' Conner's memorable music video of the song Nothing Compares 2 U is sad enough to make it one of the saddest song ever. And I definitely can't forget Eric Clapton expressing his grief in the song Tears In Heaven.

There are so many polls in the magazines and internet listing the top saddest songs like this one. However, I believe each one of us have our own sad songs, that we love to listen especially when we are down. So what are your favourite sad songs? (Warning: Self pity is contagious and it will eat you up. So cut down on the sad songs)

Oh, what the heck? Today is already Friday and this is supposed to be a happy day.

Maria Sharapova bored of Djokovic and the same shrieking complaint

Finally, Maria 'Shriek'apova is done with Novak Djokovic. In portraying the Russian court diva, he preens before serving and imitates her habit of sweeping her long, blond hair behind each ear.

Djokovic did it again at the 2008 Australian Open!

Now it seems that Sharapova looked to be retaliating.

"We'd need a really long time, because all I'll need is a tennis ball," she said of the leisurely Djokovic serve. "I'm just going to stand here and bounce the ball for a really long time before I serve. We're going to be here all day long."

Sharapova then called the Djokovic act "kinda boring," adding: "He's got his own little thing going on. So let him do it, I'm sure you guys are going to get bored of it. But it's fun any time you can get some entertainers out there."

Djokovic, the tennis clown has also done other impersonations including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer.

Oops, I shriek again!

Back to 'Shriek'apova, an Environment Protection Authority officer recently measures the raucous Russian with a decibel counter during her match against Lindsay Davenport, the quiet American.

The results proved what was painfully apparent to opponents and fans.

Her loudest shriek was 71.5dB -- louder than a vacuum cleaner (70dB) and approaching the level of a power drill (80dB).

And that was from a distance of 30m. The only thing louder than Sharapova are the clapping and cheering for Davenport.