Photo: Ron Hole (www.ronhole.com)
Marcos earned his place in the final of the Odlum Brown Van Open after battling past Great Britain’s Alex Bogdanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Vancouver on Saturday.
Sadly though, his run in the doubles with Argentine partner Juan-Francisco Spina came to an end at the semi-final stage with a 6-4, 7-6(4) loss to Ramon Delgado and Kaes Van’t Hof.
In the singles final on Sunday, Marcos will face former World No. 19 Xavier Malisse after the Belgian defeated Tim Smyczek 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Odlum Brown Van Open Photo Gallery
Having been hobbled by various injuries throughout much of 2008, it will be the first final, at any level, that Marcos has played in since June 2007 – when he finished runner-up to Tomas Berdych in the final at Halle, an ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament. He last won an ATP Challenger Tour title at Cordoba, Spain in July 2005.
World No. 206 Malisse is another player looking to rediscover the form that took him to the Top 20 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings in August 2002. The right-hander is looking to win his second straight ATP Challenger Tour title in Canada, having triumphed last week in Granby with victory over Kevin Anderson.
The final will take place third on centre court, with the day’s action beginning at 12noon local time (GMT -7hours). Check out the order of play here.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for the latest news and photos of Marcos in Vancouver.
Go, Marcos!
