Photo: Juergen Hasenkopf
Marcos is through to the quarter-finals of the BMW Open after dealing with tough conditions to defeat Swiss Marco Chiudinelli 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday in Munich.
Heavy rain delayed the start of play by over two hours and Marcos’ match was moved out to Court 4 in a bid to ensure all four second-round matches were completed. Marcos was not thrown off by the damp conditions and schedule change, though, and broke Chiudinelli’s serve in the sixth game before going on to close out a one-set lead.
Marcos raced to 3-1 lead in the second set but in a lengthy sixth game, was broken back by Chiudinelli, who went on to level at 4-4. However, in another prolonged game, Marcos regained his break advantage before serving out victory to 15 after one hour and 17 minutes.
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“It was tough conditions and we were waiting all day. But I think I did good,” reflected Marcos. “I was really focused and stayed focused throughout the match and finished it early. So I’m pretty happy about that. I’m in the quarter-finals, playing tomorrow, so I’m happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a quarter-final on clay.”
The last time Marcos reached a clay-court quarter-final on the ATP World Tour was three years ago in Munich, when he went on to reach the semi-finals.
Next up for Marcos will be the man he lost to in that semi-final, Philipp Kohlschreiber, who crushed Santiago Ventura 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday. The German went on to win the Munich title the year he beat Marcos, defeating Mikhail Youzhny in the final.
“I think he will be the favourite for sure,” said Marcos. “He’s playing good on clay, he’s at home. So I’ll just go out there and try to give it a shot, try to win the match and find the solution.”
The match will take place third on Center Court on Friday in Munich, with play for the day beginning at 11:30am local time. Check out the order of play here.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news and photos from Munich.
Go, Marcos!
