Photo: Ron C. Angle
It was a gripping quarter-final clash at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Friday, but one that ultimately Marcos was to lose to Ivan Ljubicic as he fell 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(4) against the big-serving Croatian.
Marcos surprised two-time Rotterdam finalist Ljubicic with the pace of his play at the start of the match and his aggressive ground strokes quickly earned him a 2-1 break advantage. As Ljubicic settled into the fast-paced conditions, though, the Croat drew level before breaking Marcos again in the 10th game courtesy of a rifling forehand return winner. Ljubicic had been especially lethal on serve in the early exchanges, winning all 11 points behind his first serve.
After neither player was able to crack the other’s serve in the second set, Marcos came perilously close to losing in the ensuing set tie-break. He netted a forehand to give Ljubicic a 6-5 lead, but the Croatian could not covert his match point as Marcos scrambled a booming first serve back into play before ending a cagey exchange with a forehand winner. He then won the final two points to stun Ljubicic and force a third set.
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With Ljubicic on the back foot and struggling to comprehend the loss of the second set, the Croatian later admitted it was a relief that Marcos served first at the start of the third set as it gave him chance to compose himself. Marcos was unable to build on a 0/30 advantage in the Croatian’s first service game and was later made to rue his missed opportunity as Ljubicic capitalised on a poor service game from the Cypriot to break and lead 4-3.
Once again, though, Marcos came storming back with some fine tennis, including a backhand pass crosscourt on break point, to level at 4-4 and force another tie-break. This time, though, Ljubicic adopted a more aggressive approach and was rewarded as he sealed victory after charging the net on his fourth match point.
It was a good campaign for Marcos in Rotterdam, beginning with his first-round win over Andy Murray, and he will now have a week to recover and practise on outdoor courts before competing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in just over a week.
Go, Marcos!
