Photo: Ron C. Angle
Marcos was made to work very hard for his place in the second round of the Australian Open, edging Slovenian qualifier Grega Zemlja 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 on Tuesday in Melbourne.
A large part of Marcos’ success can be attributed to the raucous support he received from the fans on Show Court 3, who carried him through the testing moments to eventual victory in three hours and 23 minutes.
After playing three matches in the past few days to secure his place in the main draw, Zemlja started the match the sharper of the two players and capitalised on errors from Marcos to secure the one-set lead.
World No. 141 Zemlja continued to hold his own in the second set and had Marcos in trouble in the 11th game as he earned two break points. Clutch play from Marcos pulled him through the service game to hold for 6-5, though, and his greater experience and quality showed in the following game as he broke serve with pressing play at the net to level the match.
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Buoyed by the swing in momentum, Marcos raced through the third set, cutting out the unforced errors and serving well as he took a two-sets-to-one lead with two breaks of serve. He looked to be in control of the match as he broke serve in the third game of the fourth set with a forehand winner. However, Zemlja impressed by fighting back immediately, taking advantage of a loose game from Marcos to level at 2-2.
Following the loss of his lead, Marcos struggled to regain his momentum and Zemlja seized his opportunity to steal the fourth set with a break of serve in the 10th game as he rifled a backhand winner up the line.
With the support of the crowd, Marcos responded immediately and upped his level to get on top of Zemlja early in the fifth set with a double-break lead. From there he had few problems in closing out the match against a tiring Zemlja to set up a blockbuster second-round clash with former World No. 4 and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news and photos from Melbourne.
Go, Marcos!
