The Cyprus Tourism Organisation, eager to promote the island’s attractions, can count on the twin pulling power of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, and Marcos Baghdatis, as in 40-love.

Cyprus’s tennis icon, a truly international personality from the beautiful eastern Mediterranean island, is an obvious choice to be an ambassador for tourism, the hope being that he will draw visitors the way he attracts spectators and inspires local sportsmen and women.

“Now tennis is the number two sport in Cyprus after soccer,” the 23-year-old from Limassol is proud to say, having almost single-handedly raised the sport’s profile as a Grand Slam finalist with a career-high world ranking of No 8.

An estimated 12,000 people play tennis in Cyprus (pop, 800,000), the exploits of the flamboyant Baghdatis on the ATP Tour and in Davis Cup having created an interest not dreamed of by the English Commissioners who first created courts at their homes there in 1900, or by the Cyprus Tennis Federation, formed in 1951 and based in the capital, Nicosia.

There is a National Tennis Centre in Nicosia and the Cyprus Tennis Federation has six full member clubs and 10 associate member clubs, some based at hotels. I visited three five-star hotel resorts and sampled the amenities and the tennis academies, open to guests and locals alike.

The Coral Beach Hotel and Resort.

Nic Sutherland ordered coffee and placed a set of keys on the table. My eyes were drawn to a miniature set of false teeth attached to the key ring. “My little babies,” Nic said. “I used to make these. I was a dental technician. I’ve still got this to remind me of what I used to do.”

Considering that this was the prelude to a tennis lesson I was somewhat apprehensive until Nic explained that he had been a part-time coach for 20-odd years while making dentures at his shop in Heywood, near Rochdale, Lancashire. He had decided to coach full-time before becoming too long in the tooth. His wife, Janet, is also a qualified tennis coach.

“It’s great here to be working outside, because so many lessons used to get cancelled in the UK,” Nic said as we made our way to the sanded artificial grass courts of the tennis academy at the Coral Beach Hotel and Resort, just north of Paphos. “You’d be on court, you’d be off court, whereas here you’re pretty much guaranteed good weather.”

I asked Nic to treat me like an absolute beginner (no pretence there) and demonstrate his method of instructing hotel guests with little tennis experience. He made the lesson enjoyable, putting me at ease and gently coaxing me to rally. The tempo would be stepped up, I was assured, for players of a higher standard.

Jason Smith, the resort sports manager, co-ordinates the staff at the tennis academy, the health club, yoga classes, pilates, circuit training, body combat, aqua-aerobics and swimming classes.

“We’re one of the hotels that actually welcomes locals,” Jason said. “We like that community feel here. We have international tourism, ex-pats, and we also have the Cypriot community here as well.”

How much has the Baghdatis factor played a part? “It’s helped a lot,” Jason said. “He looks cool, he’s not just a player in a white shirt and shorts, he’s like a rock star. He’s really opened interest in tennis in Cyprus. The more academies we have on the island the better it will be. We can have competitions together and really make a name for ourselves here.”

He emphasised, however, that recreation is the resort’s chief goal. “Being a fitness instructor, I like the idea of kids running around for an hour and sweating and being in a non-threatening environment, having fun in a group. It’s not just about being the best. It’s not an academy of excellence like you would get in Australia, specifically for training champions. We want someone who has never played tennis before to come along and experience the game.”

While my wife Phyllis went to the Jacuzzi, I was booked for a sports massage from Janos, who used to loosen the muscles of volleyball players in his native Hungary. Taking one look at me, Janos said: “If I give you a sports massage you will be black and blue tomorrow.” We settled for a relaxing rub down, and I stayed pink.

Because of the heat, July and August are not ideal months for playing tennis in Cyprus. “We won’t run the academy through the August month and probably half of July,” Jason said. “I would think any time in March, April, May, June, September and October would be good.”

InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort

This spectacular location east of Pathos is set in 578 acres on two plateaus 300 metres high either side of a ravine and surrounded by the Rantidi Forest. The site comprises a luxury hotel, a tennis academy, a championship golf course dotted with olive and carob trees, horse riding, a nature trail, a spa, a children’s play area, a club for teens, numerous and varied restaurants and an integrated community development of villas and apartments. A shuttle is provided to take guests to Zias Beach Club and The Cove.

According to mythology, the Goddess Aphrodite was born in the Paphian Sea at nearby Petra tou Romiou. One story tells how her lover Adonis was killed by a wild boar while hunting in the Rantidi Forest: “From the blood shed from Adonis sprang the first rose and from the tears of Aphrodite there appeared the anemone.”

Careful planning has ensured that the resort’s flora is indigenous and impressive and that buildings cannot be seen from the road and the road cannot be seen from the resort. We were allocated a room overlooking the ninth hole of the golf course, where PGA professional Grant Sinclair changed my stance on the driving range (an improvement, so far) and Phyllis joined me in sampling the spa’s myriad steam rooms and sauna.

At the tennis academy we attempted to graduate to topspin with the guidance of coach Nic Papadopoulos, from Johannesburg. Nic’s mother is South African and his father is Cypriot, from Limassol. Nic, a former professional player, has coached for 12 years and has worked at the resort for five years.

“The resort started out with four hard courts, and four clay courts were completed 18 months ago,” Nic said. “As well as providing tennis for the visitors to the resort and the local community, we have an academy-style program for international pro players who come out here and train for a week or ten days.”

The academy’s manager is Sebastian Gordon, a former professional player from Sydney who coached in Oman, the UK and Austria before diversifying into commercial spa management. Land at the tennis academy has been set aside for the building of a stadium court in the hope of hosting ATP Tour and WTA Tour tournaments. Sebastian also spends a good deal of time visiting schools, keen to develop interest in a grass roots programme.

Le Meridien Limassol Spa and Resort

It was here that I met a man who played a small part in grooming Marcos Baghdatis: the delightful Manos Loukaides, who was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to Greek parents, raised in Limassol, and is the manager of the health and fitness club and tennis coach at the Le Meridien resort.

“I know the Baghdatis family very well,” Manos said. “They have three boys and their father spent a lot of money. The first two boys became good players but nothing really special. Marcos was very talented. When he was six or seven years old his father asked me to give him a few lessons, which I did, but I had other things to do and Marcos went to the United States for a short time and then to France.

“Because of him more people know about Cyprus, and since Marcos became high in the ranking list more families here want their children to play tennis, thinking they can make a lot of money. I tell the parents, ‘Listen, it takes a lot of work. This is a small island and you can’t become a good player in any sport unless you go abroad.”

Nowadays Manos instructs people from abroad who come to Cyprus. A mainly self-taught tennis player, Manos was also a noted soccer player. He was a right back with Appallon in the Cyprus First Division and once played against Arsenal.

Along with a tennis academy, the resort has a mini-soccer court, a basketball court, a mini golf court, sea-water and fresh-water swimming pools and also caters for water sports enthusiasts.

We were allocated a room with a Jacuzzi in the Royal Spa wing, and, at Manos’s invitation were also able to indulge in the resort’s extensive spa bath treatment.

On the way to the courts Manos paused beside two sunbathers, saying, “Excuse me, but I must ask this gentleman how he is.” Small world: Phyllis and I are acquainted with Geoff Tomline, the gentleman in question, and his wife Judy, a former PR in tennis sponsorship, but had not seen them for years. Geoff had sliced off the tip of a big toe in an accident with the base of a sunshade, and Manos had dressed the wound.

There are four sanded artificial grass courts at the tennis academy, and Manos had an appointment with Micael Pervolarakis, the Cyprus boy’s under-12 champion. As Manos passed on some of the finer points of the game to Micael, as he had once down to the young Baghdatis, Micael’s father Nasos mused: “Maybe one day Micael will be on the cover of TennisLife.”

Places to Visit

Troodos Mountains, in the Province of Limassol; Kykkou Monastery, where President Makarios is buried, in the Province of Nicosia; Tombs of the King’s, Paphos; Kalidonia waterfalls at Platras and nature trails at Artimis, Atalanta, Aidonia, Persephone, on the summit of Troodos, all in the Province of Limassol; Petra tou Romiou (birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite) on the Paphos-Limassol Road; Baths of Aphrodite, Province of Paphos; Gorge of Avakas, Province of Paphos; salt lakes near Larnaca Airport.

In addition to the familiar vegetation found in Mediterranean countries, there are 127 species of plant native to Cyprus, more than half of them in the Troodos range. A rare variety of shrubs and flowers adorn the island, including wild orchids and cyclamen. Spring brings more than 300 species of wild flower on the plains and in the mountains.

Further details can be found on the Cyprus Tourism Organisation website www.visitcyprus.com

John Roberts travelled with Cyprus Airways www.CyprusAirways.com

Cyprus Tennis Federation This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tennis Clubs

Nicosia TC +357 22668041

Larnaca TC +357 24656999

Limassol Sporting Club +357 25564697

Famagusta TC, Limassol +357 25335952

Paphos TC + 357 26939068

Paralimni TC +357 23825006

Eleon TC +357 22679923

Laiki TC +357 22484815

Bank of Cyprus Athletic Centre, Nicolsia +357 22560222

Sunrise Beach Hotel, Paralimni +357 23831501

Valley TC, Derynia +357 23824036

Yeroskipou TC, Paphos +357 26941669

Golden Coast Hotel, Protaras +357 23814000

School of Tennis Ioannides, Limassol +353 99619906

Aldiana Hotel, Larnaca +357 34649000

Herodotou Tennis Academy, Larnaca +357 24654616

Resorts

Aphrodite Hills Resort

www.aphroditehills.com

Coral Beach Hotel and Resort

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Le Meridien Limassol Spa and Resort

www.cyprus.lemeridien.com

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