Baghdatis, due to the birth of his second daughter, began his 2016 campaign only a couple of days before the Australian Open at the exhibition Kooyong Classic where he had competitive matches with Pablo Carreño and Paul-Henri Mathieu. At the Australian Open, where Baghdatis was unseeded, he drew ninth seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in a match between two former finalists. Despite playing some vintage tennis in the second set his lack of match play showed in his four-sets defeat. Baghdatis reflecting on the loss, said "I played a good match. It was my first match of the year and I lack a bit of rhythm, especially under pressure. I had some chances in the third set but the lack of matches before the tournament made me make wrong decisions at those moments."