Marcos Baghdatis has repeatedly defeated some of the world's top tennis players, including Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian and Ivan Ljubcic. His come-from-behind semi-final victory over fourth seed David Nalbandian improved his career record against top-10 players to 5-3, with all three losses against world number one Roger Federer.

In a true fairy tale fashion, Baghdatis will face Federer in the finals on Sunday. Baghdatis and Federer last met in a quarter-final match at the Qatar tennis tournament in Doha earlier this month; Federer won 6-4, 6-3.

"I think we're all surprised he got so far," Federer told a news conference. "There are other very talented youngsters who I thought would make the break before him but he's proved us all wrong."

He can clock 200kmh serves but, like Federer, his game will always rely on smooth timing more than one-dimensional power. He can strike a series of sweet forehands that leave even Federer flat-footed. "I love when I make a forehand on the run," beams Baghdatis.

No Cypriot has ever ventured so far at a top international sports tournament, let alone a tennis grand slam, and the country was glued to television sets for the three-and-half-hour Melbourne drama.

Within hours of Baghdatis sealing a place in the final with a five-set victory against David Nalbandian, Cypriot parliament leader Demetris Christofias announced parents Christos and Andrianni Baghdatis would be flown to Melbourne to join the ever-swelling bandwagon in time for Sunday night's Australian Open final.

Baghdatis's family says it is heavily in debt from the money spent on Baghdatis's tennis education.

"I am not complaining about it loudly because I want what is best for my boy," said Christos Baghdatis, who migrated to Cyprus from neighbouring Lebanon 35 years ago.

Money worries could become a thing of the past. Baghdatis has made $347,000 in prize money so far during his career and he has almost trebled that by reaching the final in Melbourne.

Father Christos and mother Andri have sacrificed their family's financial welfare to send Marcos to a tennis academy in Paris from the age of 13, causing a public uproar in Cyprus that the Baghdatis family should have been helped a long time ago.

Each time he plays, the loudest cheers come from family members from all over Australia who have met up in Melbourne to support him as he plays his way through the Australian Open.

"I have 21 cousins in Sydney, three or four in Melbourne, three or four in Perth also. My father's Lebanese and I have Lebanese cousins here. It's a big family!"

He has uncles in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, a grandmother in Sydney and cousins around Australia, including one in Melbourne. His uncle, Haysam Sultan, 45, from Perth, said some members of his Australia family had met his nephew in Cyprus. Others such as Mr Sultan, who moved to Australia 30 years ago, met him for the first time when Baghdatis played in Australia last year.

"We were in touch with his dad but we hadn't met Marcos," he said of the nephew who grew up on Cyprus but spent his teen years training in Paris.

Mr Sultan explains they have a large family because his Lebanese mother married a second time.

All her seven sons were raised together and remain close even though the family is now spread around, in Cyprus (where Baghdatis' father Christos moved 35 years ago), Lebanon, the US and Australia. Baghdatis has a younger sister, Zena who is still in primary school, and two older brothers Marinos and Petros who played Davis Cup tennis for their country. Baghdatis recalls, "since I was born I was at the club."

He began at age 5 on artificial grass, quit tennis at age 8 in favor of football (soccer) and at 10, having already exhausted the pool of practice partners in his hometown of Limassol, on the south coast, moved to the national federation in the divided capital, Nicosia, and lived with his coach. Another wrenching move followed. Marcos was 13 and didn't speak a word of French when he moved to Paris to train at the Mauratoglu academy. Leaving his family and island nation is the toughest breakpoint he's faced. "That was hard, really hard," Marcos recalls.

Baghdatis has been adopted by Melbourne's large Greek community who have offered noisy support at all his matches. In Cyprus, they have taken to the streets, honking car horns and waving victory salutes after he fought back from two sets down to overhaul Nalbandian.

There is only one cloud on his horizon - the threat of compulsory military service. It is virtually impossible to dodge the draft in Cyprus, with all males aged over 18 having to spend 26 months in the armed services.

"We are pleading with the military to give him exemption from the army... they should at least inform him that he will not have to do the army until he is 35. But they are not willing to do that," Baghdatis' father Christos was quoted as saying by the Cyprus Mail.

"He is constantly being given postponements from the Ministry of Defense regarding his draft. It is in itself a worry for our son."

Despite pleas from his family, and numerous postponements already, the most famous Cypriot in the world may not be able to avoid doing his time.

The charismatic Cypriot will jump from his current 54 ranking to inside the top 30 when the new list comes out on Monday. Given his phenomenal rise in just a few weeks, Baghdatis was asked if he would be satisifed with just making a Grand Slam final.

"To tell you the truth, yes and no.

"No, because I want to win it. But when the tournament is over, I think I'll be satisfied because I have given everything these two weeks and I have to give everything in the final," he said.

"If I give everything, I'll be very satisfied for myself."

The family of Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis, from left, father Christos, uncle Haralambos, sister Zena and mother Andrianni, take turns to talk to him on the phone shortly after his semifinal win in the Australian Open.

Members of the crowd cheer as they watch the match between Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia at the Australian Open

Marcos Baghdatis with girlfriend Camille Nevieve at Melbourne's Luna Park

Baghdatis with the boys singles title at the 2003 Australian Open

Sources: The Age, AP, , Reuters