Marcos Baghdatis beats Richard Gasquet to clain Sydney crown

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus overcame the distraction of a lengthy rain interruption to beat France's Richard Gasquet 6-4 7-6 in the final of the Sydney International on Saturday.

Baghdatis, who burst on to the world stage when he made the Australian Open final in 2006, regained his composure after a lapse in concentration to claim his fourth ATP title in the final lead-up event before the first grand slam of 2010.

The 24-year-old made a flying start at the Sydney Olympic tennis centre, breaking Gasquet''s opening service game then taking the first set, but lost his way after a 75-minute delay early in the second set. 

Gasquet quickly established a 5-2 lead and served for the set but Baghdatis broke back and eventually sealed victory in the tiebreak. 

Baghdatis has been plagued with injuries over the past two seasons and was reduced to playing on the Challenger circuit last year.

He won three Challenger titles as well as an ATP event at Stockholm and has been great form this past week, advancing to to the final after tough three-set wins over Lleyton Hewitt and Mardy Fish.

Baghdatis is drawn to play Italian Paolo Lorenzi in his opening match at the Australian Open.

Gasquet, who faces Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the first round at Melbourne Park, missed two grand slams last year after he became involved in a doping case. 

The 23-year-old was provisionally suspended in May after testing positive for cocaine but was later cleared of any wrongdoing after explaining that he became contaminated from kissing a woman in a nightclub.