The draw for the first Grand Slam of the year is out and Marcos is slated to open against Mikhail Youzhny at the Australian Open. He will look to carry the momentum from a semifinal run this week in Auckland to the prestigious event in Melbourne.
This will be the eighth head-to-head meeting against Youzhny, with the Russian owning a slim 4-3 edge. They have only met once in the last seven years, however, with Marcos winning in Zagreb in 2015. Their lone previous Grand Slam encounter came at Wimbledon in 2005.
Should Marcos advance to the second round, a clash with ninth seed and former champion Rafael Nadal potentially awaits. No. 24 seed and rising teenager Alexander Zverev is a potential third round opponent. Gael Monfils and Philipp Kohlschreiber are the other seeds in his section of the draw.
Making his 13th straight appearance, Marcos has many fond memories of the Aussie Open. Not only did he reach his lone Grand Slam final there in 2006, but he played many memorable matches over the years, including a marathon against Lleyton Hewitt in 2008 that concluded at 4:33am. Marcos owns an impressive 24-12 tournament record overall, with three wins over Top 10 players.
