Marcos advanced to the semi-finals of the If Stockholm Open on Friday as he dismissed Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 7-6(4) in what he described as his best performance of the week.
Marcos fired seven aces and converted one of his five break point chances, while saving all four he faced to claim victory in 89 minutes. He is now two wins away from recapturing the title he won in the Swedish capital three years ago.
Marcos and Nieminen did not take to the court in their doubles quarter-final with second seeds Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, with Marcos pulling out due to neck pain.
“I’m playing great tennis,” said Marcos, who two weeks ago reached the semi-finals in Tokyo. “I’m happy with the way I’m playing and today I think was my best match of the week. I hope it continues.
“I have a lot of good memories here,” Marcos added. “I like it every time I come here. I play good. The atmosphere is great, the organisers are unbelievable. It’s like a small family tournament and I enjoy playing here.
Watch the interview with Marcos
In the semi-finals Marcos will face top-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who dismissed Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets in his quarter-final. The Frenchman is chasing valuable points in the South African Airways ATP Rankings Race To London and is looking to continue the good form which has seen him reach two finals in the past month. He won the title in Metz and finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Beijing.
Marcos will need to overturn a 0-3 career record against the 27-year-old Tsonga, including defeat to the 2008 Australian Open finalist in the Shanghai third round last week.
The match is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, 2pm Cyprus/midday UK. The winner will face either Nicolas Almagro or Tomas Berdych in the final. Check out the full order of play here.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for updates.
Go, Marcos!
