Photo: Ron C. Angle
Marcos saved three match points as he edged out World No. 1 and three-time former champion Roger Federer 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4) in a thrilling third-round encounter on Tuesday night in Indian Wells.
Victory marked Marcos’ first victory over Federer in seven meetings with the 16-time Grand Slam singles champion and earned him a fourth-round berth at the BNP Paribas Open, where he will face Spanish No. 18 seed Tommy Robredo on Wednesday.
It was also Marcos’ first victory over a player ranked No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Afterwards, via Twitter, Marcos said “Don't know what to say...the biggest win in my career...I am so happy!”
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In a high-level encounter, the first break point opportunities of the match came for Marcos in the seventh game, when the combination of an excellent forehand lob from Marcos and a double fault from Federer gave Marcos a 15/40 lead. However, he was unable to convert, with two ground stroke errors proving costly, and Federer was able to hold serve.
With the set reaching the closing stages, Federer started to up his already-high level and put Marcos under pressure in the decisive 12th game. The Swiss squandered his first set point with a forehand unforced error, but made no mistake on his second, rifling a forehand at Marcos whose responding volley could only find the net.
Undeterred, Marcos maintained his high level in the second set, forcing the best from Federer and pushing the World No. 1 to a 5-4 score line. However, a couple of loose shots from Marcos in the 10th game looked to be decisive as Federer carved out two match points at 15/40. Marcos held strong, though, denying the Swiss on both as he held on for 5-5.
Disgruntled at not being able to convert his opportunities, Federer’s level dropped in the following game and a slew of unforced errors gave Marcos a rare break point chance. He was quick to capitalise, forcing a backhand error from Federer to lead 6-5. Marcos then kept a level ahead and resisted Federer’s advances to hold serve and level the match as the Basel native fired a backhand long.
Federer pounced early in the third set, breaking serve in the fourth game to lead 3-1 as Marcos sprayed a backhand wide. However, Marcos may have been down, but he was not out. Arguably the best point of the match finishing with a blistering forehand crosscourt winner saw Marcos earn a break back point in the seventh game and he capitalized as Federer’s forehand found the net.
The top-seeded Federer had one more chance to close out the match in the 12th game when, at 30/30 he charged the net off Marcos’ serve and was rewarded with his third match point. However, the right-hander snatched at an ambitious backhand up the line and Marcos was able to hold on to force a tie-break.
Marcos showed nerves of steel in the tie-break and clutch play saw him extend Federer to 4-4. It was Federer who cracked first, miscuing a backhand wide to give Marcos a 5-4 lead and from there he made no mistake. A superb forehand pass on the run brought up two match points at 6-4 and an unreturnable first serve secured an epic victory for Marcos after two hours and 22 minutes.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for match reaction and photos from Indian Wells, plus a look ahead to the fourth-round clash with Robredo.
Well done, Marcos!
