Marcos fought his way into the quarterfinals at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships on Thursday, defeating 2014 champion Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-3. It was his 10th match win of the season on the ATP World Tour.
"Fernando is a better player than me on clay, that's for sure, but I tried to not give him rhythm," Marcos said. "I tried to play a lot of drop shots and make him move as much as I can. I'm happy with the way I served. I think I got a lot of free points and I think that made the difference."
Marcos fired six aces and saved three of four break points faced during the 77-minute affair. Two days after securing a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Diego Schwartzman to open his Houston campaign, he grabbed the first break of the match for 6-4 and reeled off five of the next six games. Marcos eventually claimed victory on his second match point.
"I feel relaxed on court," Marcos continued. "I made smart decisions in important points and I think that's the difference. I have a bit of confidence from playing the final in Dubai and I'm feeling great."
Seeded seventh, Marcos will appear in his first ATP World Tour quarterfinal on clay since Munich 2012. He will face defending champion and home hope Jack Sock on Friday. It is their first encounter.
