Photo: Hiromasa Mano
In a stellar performance by Marcos on Thursday afternoon at the Medibank International Sydney, he ousted home favourite and fourth seed Lleyton Hewitt to reach the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament for the first time.
Marcos looked close to his top form as he dismissed the last remaining seed in the draw to set up a semi-final clash with either Mardy Fish or Peter Luczak and declared his best tennis is not far off on the eve of the Australian Open, which begins next week.
“I need some wins and games like this, wins or losses anyway, playing at this high level, and then I think it (his best tennis) will come fast,” said Marcos. “I just have to stay solid and keep on working the same way I'm working. It's just a matter of time that it will come. I'm pretty sure that one day, if I stay healthy and work the same way I am now, that it will pay off.”
Playing a well-respected opponent, Marcos fell behind early in the match as four-time Sydney champion Hewitt fought back from 40-15 down in the third game and broke serve as Marcos miscued a forehand. Marcos had opportunities to draw level in the fourth and sixth games, but could not take his chances and Hewitt went on to assume a one-set lead.
In a high-intensity match, Hewitt drew first blood in the second set with a pin-point accurate forehand cross-court pass to break and lead 2-1, but Marcos was far from finished in the pair’s third meeting. In a huge momentum swing, Marcos went after Hewitt with more aggression in his tennis and it paid off as he rattled off six straight games to level the match and move to a 1-0 lead in the deciding set.
The 28-year-old Hewitt stemmed the flow of games for Marcos as he drew level at 1-1, but Marcos quickly gained the upper hand, breaking serve to lead 3-1 with a rifling forehand winner.
Marcos’ serving was impressive throughout the match, particularly in the closing stages as he denied Hewitt any opportunity to get back into contention. He earned his first match point in the ninth game as Hewitt netted a forehand return and sealed victory after one hour and 59 minutes with his eighth ace.
Despite playing a strong Australian favourite, Marcos received plenty of support from Greek and Cypriot fans in the crowd and afterwards stated: “Every time I come here I feel like I’m at home.
“I’m very happy; it’s a great win because I have a lot of respect for Lleyton. He’s a great tennis player. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s match. I'm really happy the way I played. I'm feeling fit, no injuries, no pain anywhere, so I guess I will need some more matches like this to start feeling my game coming slowly, slowly back.”
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for photos from the match and a look ahead to the semi-finals.
Well done, Marcos!
