Marcos returned to his winning form in notching a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 first round victory over Ernests Gulbis at the St. Petersburg Open on Tuesday.
Contesting his first match since the US Open, Marcos fired seven aces and converted on four of 15 break chances to earn the win in two hours and nine minutes. It was his first match win against Gulbis since Miami 2009, improving his head-to-head record to 5-2 overall and 4-0 on hard courts.
"It’s the first match I played after a long hiatus," Marcos said following the match. "The last time I played was in New York when I had to pull out and since that I had to work on a special program to recover after my injury. I’m happy with some things in my game and not really happy with some others.
"I am not happy with the winners and unforced errors ratio, but I was happy with the way I returned and that’s why I could break him."
Making his second appearance in St. Petersburg (2013), Marcos will face either fifth seed Tommy Robredo or home hope Mikhail Youzhny in the second round. A three-time finalist, Youzhny won the title in 2004 and owns a 4-3 head-to-head edge over Marcos. Robredo, meanwhile, trails his head-to-head against Marcos by a margin of 3-2.
In doubles action, Marcos teamed with Australian teen Thanasi Kokkinakis for the first time. The duo fell 1-6, 7-5, 10-4.
