Defending champion Ivan Dodig could see his title hopes derailed against Marcos Baghdatis in the Zagreb Indoors quarter-finals.
Dodig was a surprise winner in Zagreb twelve months ago and he's fighting his hardest to keep his hopes alive of a second title, seeing off a determined Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
It was a repeat of their semi-final clash in Zagreb last season which Dodig had edged once again in three sets. As ever with the Croatian, while it wasn't a vintage performance he showed plenty of heart and the fighting spirit which has seen him break the top 50 against all odds.
However he'll need more than fighting spirit to see off Baghdatis. The Cypriot won this title back in 2007 and he's beginning to show flashes of the form which took him to the top ten.
Baghdatis eased past Poland's Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 6-2 in the second round. "I can say in the first round I started very well; [Lukas] Rosol played very well in the middle of the first set," he said. "So I cannot say if I played better or not, but today I kept the momentum and I kept the way I started against Rosol and that made the win a bit easier. I’m feeling good now. I’m happy. I’m playing good and I think my ranking will go up slowly."
Dodig won their only previous match 7-6(4), 6-1 in the semis of 's'Hertogenbosch last June.
Prediction: Baghdatis in three.
