Photo: Hiromasa Mano
Fresh from winning his fourth ATP World Tour title at the Medibank International Sydney on Saturday, Marcos will embark on his sixth Australian Open campaign next week.
Considered to be one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the draw, Marcos is located in the top quarter and will play Italian Paolo Lorenzi in the first round.
Looking ahead to the meeting with Lorenzi, whom he has never faced before, Marcos said: “I don't know too much [about] the guy. [I’ve] never played him before. [The] most important thing is to work on the things that I have to work on and get ready for the match on Tuesday. Then I think if I do that and stay focused, keep my feet on the ground, then I'll find a way to win.”
Should Marcos dispatch Lorenzi on Tuesday, he would face either Portugal’s Frederico Gil or Spanish No. 17 seed David Ferrer, with the possibility of a re-match with No. 22 seed Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the third round. The two also met in the third round in 2008 in a match that Hewitt won in five sets, finishing at 4:34 a.m. Last week, Marcos exacted revenge for that defeat by beating the former World No. 1 in straight sets in the Sydney quarter-finals.
“Obviously my confidence is good, but I need to win some tournaments and some matches at the Australian Open to build it up again,” said Marcos. “But if I stay focused and find the way to win the first two, three matches, then I could be very dangerous and confident.”
If Marcos can navigate his way through the first three rounds, he would very likely meet three-time former Australian Open champion and World No. 1 Roger Federer, with Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko likely quarter-final opponents for the winner.
Check out the full Australian Open singles draw here.
The scene of Marcos’ greatest tennis triumph to date came at Melbourne Park in 2006, when he knocked out three Top 10 players to reach his first Grand Slam final, before losing out to Federer in four sets in the final. In his four other visits to the Australian Open, Marcos has enjoyed consistent results, reaching the fourth round on his debut in 2005, losing out again to Federer, and last year when he fell to Novak Djokovic.
In other news, as a result of winning the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Sydney this week, Marcos has made a great leap in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings, rising 11 places to No. 31.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for more on Marcos’ first-round match at the Australian Open.
Go, Marcos!
