Marcos set a second round clash against either eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov or Benoit Paire, after cruising through his Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships opener on Tuesday.
Marcos defeated Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-1 in just one hour and 16 minutes, firing six aces and converting on four of five break opportunities. He also saved four of five break chances on his own serve. Verdasco served for the first set at 5-4 after breaking Marcos, but would drop nine of the next 10 games. It was Marcos' second win in two matches against the Spaniard, improving his record in Tokyo to 7-4. His best result came as a semi-finalist in 2012.
Marcos will look to continue rolling when he faces Dimitrov or Paire. He owns a 1-6 record against the Bulgarian rising star and has split two meetings against Paire. Victory will further cement his place in the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He sits at World No. 49 entering the tournament.
