Baghdatis began playing tennis at age five and played with his father and two older brothers, Marinos and Petros, who played Davis Cup. His father, Christos, owns a clothing store in Cyprus and Baghdatis prefers hard courts and considers himself a baseliner with his serve and his forehand his biggest weapons. His biggest idol as a child was Patrick Rafter but the Cypriot also looked up to Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. Bagdatis enjoys playing and watching soccer and his favourite soccer team is Apollo in Cyprus. He was named "Man of the Year" in Cyprus in 2005.