Photo: Arne Forsell/rca productions
Marcos is through to the final of the If Stockholm Open after top seeded Swede Robin Soderling was forced to withdraw prior to their semi-final clash Saturday, suffering with an elbow injury.
"I'm sorry for Robin first of all," said Marcos, talking to the ATP. "It's not easy to retire, especially when you're playing at home. But obviously I'm happy to get through to the final.
"I need some points and my ranking is not so good right now. I knew it would not have been an easy match for me today. He was the favourite, playing with the home support and indoors. So I'm just happy to get through."
If Stockholm Open Photo Gallery
Marcos will contest his first ATP World Tour final since June 2007, when he finished runner-up to Tomas Berdych at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. He has a 2-4 record in tour-level finals, notably winning titles at the 2006 China Open (d. Ancic) and 2007 PBZ Zagreb Indoors (d. Ljubicic) and reaching the ’06 Australian Open final (l. to Federer).
"When you are out for eight months because of injury, it's not easy to win matches," said Marcos. "For sure I had my doubts about being able to come back (after an injury-stricken 2008). I'm really hungry to do well again now. I am going to do everything I can to achieve my dreams - to win Grand Slams and get back into the Top 5 or Top 10.
"I've had to accept being ranked down at 150 and I've gone to play some challengers, to try and win some matches and get the confidence back up again. Tashkent last week was very hard. But it's good to go back to where it all began and remember how tough the challenger tournaments are.
"I'm working a lot more on my physique now, trying to be fit every week so that I can enjoy my tennis. After this week I'll go home for a week and then I'll be going to South Korea to play some more challengers."
In the final, Marcos will face Belgian Olivier Rochus, who defeated Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci to reach his first final since 2007 Mumbai. Like Marcos, he has a 2-4 record in ATP World Tour finals.
The No. 87-ranked Rochus has reached two ATP World Tour semi-finals this season, in Halle (l. to Djokovic) and Newport (l. to Ram), and has also excelled on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning a title in Manchester and reaching the final at two further events.
Marcos has played Rochus just once before, defeating the 28 year old on clay at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome in 2006.
Marcos vs. Rochus: Head-to-Head
"Rochus is playing great," said Baghdatis. "He's a good friend of mine and we've warmed up together every day this week. It would be nice to play a friend in the final."
The match will take place not before 3:00 p.m. local time (+1hr GMT) on Sunday. Check out the full order of play here.
Point-by-point live scoring of the final is available here.
You can check to see if you have live TV coverage here.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for the latest news and photos from the Swedish capital.
Go, Marcos!
