Marcos edged a closely-fought encounter with Australian wild card Matthew Ebden, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3), on Wednesday in Sydney to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament.
In extremely hot and blustery conditions in Sydney, Ebden made the better start, breaking for a 3-1 lead. Marcos had three chances to break back in the ninth game, but was unable to convert as the No. 97-ranked Ebden clinched the opener.
Marcos hit back immediately in the second set as he opened up a 2-0 lead, but Ebden pegged him back in the seventh game. Marcos held his nerve, though, and broke the Australian’s serve once more in the 12th game to level the match.
Neither player was able to make a breakthrough on serve in the decider, and it was Marcos who excelled in the tie-break, clinching victory as Ebden fired a forehand wide after two hours and 12 minutes.
"Today was not the greatest match I've played, but I'm very happy because I might get these conditions up in Melbourne. It's nice to feel bad in these conditions and fight through," said Marcos.
"Matthew I think came up in the first set playing very aggressive and very good. I'm happy the way I finished. I was serving much better, and I fought through. I found a way to win. I played great in the tie-break, so I'm very happy."
In the quarter-finals Marcos will face top seed Juan Martin del Potro, who earlier defeated Lukasz Kubot after receiving a bye through the first round. Marcos and del Potro have split their previous two meetings, with the Argentine taking their first clash in Miami five years ago, before Marcos got the better of him at last year’s Australian Open.
The match will be played on Thursday in Sydney, beginning at 7:30pm local time (GMT +11hours). Check out the full order of play here.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news from Sydney.
Go, Marcos!
