At the Miami Open after receiving a bye in the first round, he beat Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round. In the third round, he lost to seventh seed Marin Čilić in straight sets. Baghdatis had a disappointing start to the clay-court season, being eliminated in the first rounds of both the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Rome Masters by Albert Montañés and Ernests Gulbis respectively. He next played in the BMW Open, where he was seeded fifth. In the first round, he won against German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in three sets. In the second round, he took on Marco Chiudinelli, beating the Swiss in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, the 2007 champion and fourth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber stood in the way, but with some superb serving, Baghdatis eliminated the home favorite in two sets. For a spot in the final, Baghdatis took on first seed Marin Čilić. Despite taking the first set, Baghdatis was unable to close out the match, eventually losing in three erratic sets. He then made a quarterfinal appearance at the Open de Nice Côte d'Azur as the fifth seed, where he was upset by Argentinian Leonardo Mayer in three sets, despite saving 21 of 24 break points in the match.