MARCOS Baghdatis has shaken off his latest back injury to win a wildcard entry for the Brisbane International where he will start the new season against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland at the brand new 5000-seat Rafter Arena.

Baghdatis arrived in Australia last week and has been training inside the Rafter Arena at the new Queensland Tennis Centre hoping to acclimatize to the sizzling southern hemisphere weather.

“It’s a bit warmer, 30 degrees warmer. But that’s why I came early, to give myself one week in front of me to prepare. It’s my second day here and I feel better than yesterday so we will see how it goes,” he said.

After a disappointing season marred by injuries, Marcos has been working hard with his new team on his physical conditioning during the off-season and now believes he is at his fittest since turning professional.

“I worked on it a lot in the off season and last year when I had a lot of time off. I mainly worked on my back and I am feeling much better. I feel happy being on court again. I feel fitter than ever.”

“I just tried to stay positive (during the off-season). I told myself 2008 was a bad year and to forget about it and just try to come back and get to the Top 20. Basically my objective is to get to the top-five just once in my lifetime.” Baghdatis added.

After being the world’s number eight in August 2006, Baghdatis has slipped to 98 in the rankings in 2008 and he is hoping to put an injury-plagued year behind him targeting the world’s elite once again. His first obstacle will be the Finn, Nieminen, with whom Baghdatis has a 2-2 record.

“I’m pretty happy I’m here, so I’ll try to win some matches, and why not to win the tournament. That’s my goal,” Baghdatis was optimistic about his chances in Brisbane.

From Brisbane, the 23-year old Cypriot will travel to Melbourne for the AAMI Classic exhibition event in Kooyong to complete his final preparations for the first Grand Slam of the season.