The 2010 season saw Baghdatis return to form. He started off the year at the Brisbane International, one of the first ATP 250 tournaments of the season. In the first round, he beat Mardy Fish 7–5, 7–5, but he was soundly defeated in his second-round clash against hard-hitting Tomáš Berdych, winning just one game. He then entered the next Australian Open series tournament, the Medibank International tournament in Sydney. In his opening round, he looked rusty, but managed to beat Australian wild card Nick Lindahl and in the second round, he beat sixth seed Viktor Troicki in two sets. Baghdatis then stunned the fourth seed Lleyton Hewitt, rallying from a set and a break down in the second set to win in a three-sets quarterfinal. Then he defeated Mardy Fish in another heart-stopping three-set win 6–4, 6–7, 7–6, in the semifinals. In the final, he faced Richard Gasquet. After a rain delay at the start of the second set, Baghdatis went on to a straight-sets victory, a win which elevated his ATP ranking to No. 31.