Marcos reached his second ATP World Tour 500 quarter-final of the year on Wednesday, beating home hope Dustin Brown 7-5, 7-6(8) at the Gerry Weber Open.
Marcos did not drop a set en route to the quarters in Dubai in February and the same holds true this week, at the grass-court tournament in Halle. A day after registering his first victory over a Top 10 opponent in nearly a year in upsetting fourth seed Tomas Berdych, he extended his head-to-head lead over Brown to 4-0.
Marcos prevailed after one hour and 20 minutes, striking 10 aces and claiming an impressive 89 per cent of first serve points. He saved the lone break point faced. Marcos was clutch when it counted in the first set, breaking Brown in the 12th game for 7-5. He was dominant on serve in the second, winning 30 of 35 points and eventually sealing the victory after a marathon 18-point tiebreak. He converted his fifth match point at 9-8.
Marcos has been ruthless in tiebreaks in 2016, winning eight of nine contested, including three thus far in Halle. He has won 11 of his last 12 overall, dating back to last year.
Runner-up in 2007 in the German city, Marcos will look to move one step closer to a return trip to the final when he faces 19-year-old Alexander Zverev on Friday. Marcos triumphed in their lone previous encounter, 6-3, 6-3 on the grass of Nottingham last year.
