Marcos made a strong start at the Moselle Open on Monday evening, defeating Germany’s Matthias Bachinger 7-5, 6-2 to secure his place in the second round of the ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard court tournament in Metz.
Marcos broke through at the fifth opportunity to claim a tight opening set, before hitting his stride with two breaks of serve in the second set to clinch victory in one hour and 17 minutes. Marcos was particularly impressive on serve in the second set, dropping just two points.
Next up for Marcos is third-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who received a bye through the first round. It will be the third meeting between the pair, with Marcos having won their most recent encounter in straight sets in the 2010 Moscow quarter-finals.
"I played very good today, a very solid game," assessed Marcos. "I did everything very well and I am very happy with that. Against Dolgopolov I am going to do the same thing, stay very aggressive."
This season has been a breakout year for Dolgopolov, with the 22 year old taking out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Robin Soderling to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals, and capturing his maiden title in Umag. He is coming off a fourth-round showing at the US Open, where he lost out to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest on Marcos’ progress in Metz.
Go, Marcos!
