Baghdatis falls in ranking but advances in Halle

Cypriot tennis sensation Markos Baghdatis lost five places in the ATP rankings this week, dropping from 18 to 23 after his first-round exit from the French Open, but yesterday advanced to the second round of the $173,000 tournament of Halle in Germany. He beat low-ranked Czech Republic’s Jan Hernych 2-0 (6-4, 7-5) and will face France’s Fabrice Santoro, the world’s No 52 in the next round.

Spain’s Pamesa Valencia, one of the biggest forces in the country’s basketball league, is interested in signing Greek international Dimos Dikoudis of Panathinaikos. The champion’s forward is on his way out of the Greens and the Spanish club is his main suitor, ahead of Italy’s Benetton Treviso, having already played in Valencia twice in his career.

Serb coach Momcilo Vukotic has agreed to become the new manager for soccer’s Super League club Levadiakos. The 56-year-old coach, formerly of Panionios and PAOK, has also managed a number of Cypriot clubs, as well as the national team of Cyprus, but has not proven to be a successful choice so far.

Greece will send more than 10 riders to the World Equestrian Cup event (CSIO4*-W) in Sofia, which starts tomorrow and concludes on Sunday. The event counts toward the the South Central Europe league. The team event in the Nations Cup takes place on Friday, with Greece participating with its four-rider team. The Grand Prix is set for Sunday.

Giorgos Salavantakis will be Greece’s only representative in the shooting events of the Olympic Games this summer, after edging out rival shooters Nikos Mavromatis and Efthymis Mittas. He gets the sole wild card of the international federation to participate in the Beijing Games. The Greek federation has been unable to secure a second wild card, meaning that veteran Aghi Kasoumi will not make it to another Games.