Photo: Ron Hole (www.ronhole.com)
Marcos is through to the semi-finals of the Odlum Brown Van Open after a testing 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over up-and-coming Canadian wild card Philip Bester on Friday at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Vancouver.
Marcos had led by a set and a break, but the resilient Bester – buoyed by the strong support of his home crowd – hit back to level the match by stealing the second set.
Marcos was continually made to work hard in the third set, recovering from an early break deficit before finding himself just two points from defeat when serving at 4-5, 15-30. He dug deep though to hold serve and immediately broke Bester's serve to lead 6-5, as the Canadian youngster fired a forehand long, before serving out the victory to love.
Afterwards, Marcos – who is proving to be very popular with the Vancouver faithful – was complimentary of Bester’s effort, saying: “He’s playing great tennis. He reminds me of Roger [Federer] a bit. I think if he keeps working hard, he'll make it up [the rankings]. He played great tennis. I was very impressed.”
Odlum Brown Van Open Photo Gallery
“It's been a long time since I've pulled one out in a situation like that,” added Marcos, who is through to his first semi-final – at any level – since September 2008, when he reached the last four at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Orleans.
For a place in the final, Marcos will face Great Britain’s Alex Bogdanovic after the World No. 235 cruised past Sergei Bubka 6-4, 6-3 to reach his third Challenger semi-final of the season. It will be Marcos’ first meeting against the 25-year-old left-hander, who reached a career-high No. 108 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings on 25th June, 2007.
Saturday will be a busy day for Marcos, as he is also in doubles semi-final action with Argentine partner Juan-Francisco Spina. They will take on Paraguay’s Ramon Delgado and American Kaes Van’t Hof on Court 2 after Marcos has had the appropriate rest after his singles match.
In breaking with the routine he has held throughout the week, Marcos will be out second on Centre Court, following a women’s match that begins at 12 noon local time.
Check out Saturday’s full order of play here.
Looking ahead, slightly prematurely, to Marcos’ participation in the LG & T Tennis Challenger next week in Binghamton – have a read of this feature written about Marcos’ comeback from injury.
Make sure you stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news and photos from Vancouver.
Go, Marcos!
