It took two hours and 21 minutes, but Marcos emerged a winner after a pulsating first-round match against fourth seed David Goffin at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Marcos claimed victory 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(5), storming back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set tiebreak. He would reel off five straight points to book his spot in the second round, capping the win with a 41-shot rally on his first match point. He improved to 4-1 against Goffin in their head-to-head.
Marcos opened with a bang, streaking to a 5-0 lead behind a pair of service breaks. He would drop the second set, but recovered in the third, despite falling behind in the deciding tiebreak. Marcos struck 23 winners in total, while benefitting from 37 unforced errors by Goffin. He converted on three of 11 break points.
Making his sixth trip to Rotterdam, an ATP World Tour 500 event, Marcos will face Tommy Robredo or Martin Klizan next. He is 3-3 against Robredo in their six encounters, while having never faced Klizan.
