Photo: Ron C. Angle
For only the second time in his career, Marcos recovered from two sets down to win as he came back from the brink to defeat Spanish No. 17 seed David Ferrer 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-1 on Thursday and secure his place in the third round of the Australian Open.
In front of a packed Hisense Arena and under the full glare of the Melbourne sun, Marcos and Ferrer went toe-to-toe from the first ball in what was to be an extraordinary battle, filled with lengthy and intense rallies.
Ferrer, who had twice before beaten Marcos coming into the match, had the edge in the first two sets as he produced clutch tennis on the big points to establish a commanding two-set lead. Marcos had been denied on five break points of his own in the first set and had led by a service break at 2-1 in the second set before Ferrer hit back.
Clearly disappointed, Marcos took out his frustrations on a couple of his racquets at the sit down before refocusing and starting the fight back. The match looked to be slipping away from Marcos as he trailed by a break of serve in the third set but, with the confidence of having won his past six matches driving him on, not to mention the raucous support he received throughout the match, he hit back to force a tie-break and clawed his way back into contention as he won it 7-4.
Marcos was quick to capitalise on the swing in momentum, breaking early in the fourth set before going on to level the match by winning it 6-3 and forcing a deciding set.
To his credit, Ferrer continued to battle hard and Marcos was forced to save an early break point chance in the third game of the fifth set. Huge hitting from the back of the court in the following game then earned Marcos the chance to get a decisive break and he secured a 3-1 lead as Ferrer went for too much on his backhand and hooked it wide.
With cramp beginning to bother Marcos, he looked to finish off the match quickly and broke serve once more to lead 5-1, after chasing down a drop shot before sliding the ball back past Ferrer.
There was more drama to come, though, as the cramp took its toll in Marcos’ left leg. In an attempt to avoid cramping completely, he was forced to abbreviate his service action as he served for the match and played high risk tennis to open up a 30-15 lead. A double fault at 30-30 gave Ferrer the chance to get one of the breaks back, but the Spaniard missed his backhand and was not to get another chance.
Having shaken off the worst of the cramp, Marcos was denied on his first match point, but an incredible forehand cross-court winner – on the run – earned him a second chance for glory and he took it as Ferrer hooked a forehand wide after four hours and nine minutes.
"At the beginning of the match I had a lot of chances to break him. I think I was the best one on the court. I didn't take any chances, and he did at 5-4. He took the set," lamented Marcos.
"In the second [set] I was a break up again. I had the chances and I couldn't finish it. I was a bit frustrated at the beginning of the third. What I did, is say to myself that I'll just go on the court today and try to not miss a ball. Then I saw he was a bit tired, so it helped me fight even more. I saw a window open, so that's how it went."
"Then my tennis came back. [I] started playing pretty good. Started playing a bit more aggressive. The serve came back in the fourth and the fifth sets. I served pretty good, so I'm delighted I won."
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for photos from this incredible match.
Well done, Marcos!
