By Dennis Passa
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) _ Marcos Baghdatis and his coach can keep their day jobs.
Baghdatis, the surprise of the Australian Open, lost his championship match Sunday to top-seeded Roger Federer. He threatened early before dropping a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 decision to the Swiss star.
``I told (my coach) if I win the Australian Open, I'll stop tennis,'' Baghdatis said, smiling. ``He told me if I win it, he'll stop working.''
The Cypriot with the boisterous Greek following spent two weeks in the tennis spotlight and will move up in the rankings from 54th to the 20s. He more than tripled his career prize money during his stay in Melbourne Park.
Baghdatis made the audacious pat with coach Guillaume Payre after he lost a first-round match three weeks ago at Auckland, New Zealand. But his next stop will be Cyprus for a two-week break with his family, then back on the ATP trail on Feb. 13 in Marseille, France.
When he returns, Baghdatis can take inspiration from his coach's words after the match.
``I'm 20 years old, and he told me I have a lot in front of me to do and it's not finished,'' he said. ``There are a lot of players like me who want it so much and have the heart, have the fire in them to do what I did this week.''
Back in Cyprus, the defeat did not stop people from pouring into the main square of Paramytha village _ the home of Baghdatis' parents _ under the deafening sound of fireworks, gunfire, church bells and music.
Celebrations also spread to the Aghios Nikolaos roundabout _ the traditional venue for all sporting celebrations in Limassol _ where fans draped in Greek and Cypriot flags chanted his name.
``The winner today was Cyprus, our country,'' said Baghdatis' father, Christos.
Baghdatis became the first Cypriot to play in a Grand Slam final and officials in Limassol are preparing a massive welcome for him. The port city's council has announced it will name a street after him and establish a Marcos Baghdatis prize for athletes who excel.
``We don't care if he lost, he is still a winner for us,'' youngster Kyriakos Theodosiou said.
Baghdatis had the edge to start the match, winning the first set and going up a break in the second. At 5-5 in the second, he lost the next 11 games and never recovered.
``He had been returning so well,'' Federer said. ``Credit to him. He really didn't allow me to play my game. But he may have got a little bit tired, maybe disappointed that he didn't win the second when he could have. I got a bit more aggressive and it paid off.''
Baghdatis said he started thinking too much.
``I wanted to continue being aggressive ... not to give Federer time to play his game,'' he said. ``Maybe I was a bit scared of him. Maybe I didn't really believe it. Things were happening so fast.''
His Australian run captured the attention of thousands of Greek fans. The president called him after his fourth-round win, and a local soccer team sent him a signed jersey.
His brother, Petros, arrived for Sunday's final with a song on a CD written by Cypriot schoolchildren.
In Melbourne, he couldn't walk the streets without being mobbed for autographs. He went from obscurity to a recognizable, smiling face who kept knocking off opponents.
He didn't plan any celebration with family and friends on Sunday night.
``I just lost the match, I just lost the final,'' he said. ``I would like to stay in the hotel and play some cards and just relax a bit.
``I'm not really in the mood to go have fun. It will take me one or two days to come back and smile again.''
