The 2017 season is here and Marcos is ready to open his ATP World Tour campaign at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. He is making his first appearance at the hard-court event since 2007, when he reached the quarterfinals.
Marcos will face old foe Radek Stepanek in the first round. It will be their fifth head-to-head clash and first in nearly six years, having split their four previous encounters. Their first meeting came 11 years ago at the Australian Open, where Marcos prevailed in five gripping sets. Stepanek, 38, is a qualifier in Doha after winning a pair of matches over the weekend.
Marcos, seeded eighth this week, would face either qualifier Mohamed Safwat or wild card Arthur De Greef in the second round, with a quarter-final encounter against defending champion Novak Djokovic looming in the quarters. World No. 1 Andy Murray leads the charge in the other half of the draw.
Marcos is hoping to build on a strong 2016 season, which saw him finish at World No. 36 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, post a 26-23 record and reach the final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. He has no points to defend until the first week in February.
