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Marcos reached the third round of the Australian Open for the seventh time after rallying from a set down to defeat Japan’s Tatsuma Ito 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday afternoon in Melbourne. He will face fourth seed David Ferrer on Friday, after the Spaniard also needed four sets to defeat Tim Smyczek.
Marcos admitted he was concerned about the amount of energy he was expending on court after his five-set win in the first round, but aggressive tennis against Ito saw him advance in two hours and 13 minutes.
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“I was happy,” said Marcos, reflecting on his performance. “I think the last two sets were much better and more positive than the last match. I think towards the end, I started playing better and better. At the end of the match, I was a bit more aggressive, my ball was heavier than at the beginning. I actually pushed him back, didn’t let him take control of the points. That was very pleasing.
“The good thing today is I didn’t spend too much time on court. Before the match I was worried that I didn't want this match to go long. I'm really happy it didn't. They were four short sets.
"The fans and the people here give me so much positive energy. They help me a lot to come through tough matches like the last two. That's the reason I do so well here."
In Ferrer, Marcos faces his biggest challenge of the season so far. The World No. 4 had a career-best season in 2012, leading the ATP World Tour with 76 match wins and seven titles. Marcos has beaten the Spaniard once before, and it came at Melbourne Park in five sets three years ago.
“You have to fight every point and concentrate against Ferrer,” said Marcos. “Today I lost concentration in the middle of the first set. Against Ferrer you cannot afford that mistake. You have to stay focussed through match and keep pushing him back and be aggressive.”
Before Friday’s contest with Ferrer, Marcos will team up with Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the doubles. They face Matt Ebden and Ryan Harrison in the first round on Thursday, with Marcos commenting he will be glad of the extra practice before Ferrer. “I’ll work a bit on my serve, work on my return. I'll get an hour or so on court, which is good.”
The match is scheduled last in the Margaret Court Arena day session, with play beginning at 11am local time (GMT +11 hours).
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Go Marcos!
