Marcos turned in a heroic effort in clipping seventh seed Gilles Muller in Saturday's BB&T Atlanta Open semi-finals, advancing to his first ATP World Tour final in four years.
Marcos rallied from a set down in prevailing 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(4) after two hours and 34 minutes. He fired 10 aces and converted on three of six break chances, setting up a final clash against top seed and defending champion John Isner.
"I'm happy I kept my mind together and found a way to win in the end," Marcos said. "Today I was expecting more rallies, but he served big and put pressure all the time on my serve. I'm happy I served much better today than yesterday. Every match I'm getting better and it's the beginning of the US Open Series and I'm in a final."
After dropping the opening set in a tie-break, Marcos immediately responded with a quick break of serve in the second game of the second set. He would force a decider, where he served for the match at 6-5 after securing his third break of serve. But Muller fought back and the match would head to a critical tie-break. Marcos pounced on the first point, earning a mini-break for 1-0 and he held serve from there for the big win.
It was Marcos' first match against Muller in a professional setting. They were close friends during their junior tennis days.
Marcos advanced to his 12th ATP World Tour final and first since Kuala Lumpur 2011. He will vie for his fifth title against Isner on Sunday.
"I'm relieved that I can play at this level. It's a great feeling and it's a huge challenge for me."
