Picking up the strong form where he left off in 2012, Marcos is through to the Brisbane International semi-finals after defeating third seed Giles Simon 6-3, 6-4 on Friday at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament. It is the first time in five visits he has reached the last four in Brisbane.
“First of all, I’m playing good tennis,” said Marcos. “Today in the first set I didn’t serve so well and I think to win a set against a guy like Simon, not serving so well, means I’m playing really well from the baseline and feeling really comfortable when the points start.
“I was solid from the back, aggressive with my forehand,” Marcos continued. “I started the match with a couple of mistakes, trying to be aggressive. But when I found the rhythm with which ball to be aggressive off and tried to go for winners, it paid off.”
Later in the day, Marcos saw his doubles campaign with Jarkko Nieminen end in the semi-finals. The pair lost to top seeds Eric Butorac and Paul Hanley, 6-2, 6-3.
“It's been great,” said Marcos. “We're both singles players, we both give priority to singles. It's been fun playing with him. First of all he's a great guy, so relaxed on the court. You feel like you don’t have too much pressure; it's really nice.”
In Saturday’s singles semi-finals, Marcos will come up against 21-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who dismissed Jurgen Melzer in straight sets on Friday. The pair have met twice before, with their head-to-head split at 1-1. Marcos won their most recent clash in the Wimbledon second round, when Dimitrov retired ill.
“He's young, a great athlete with a great forehand, great serve and moves well,” assessed Marcos. “I think I have to focus on what I have to do and the things I've been practising the past month and go out and do them.”
The match is scheduled for first on Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday, with play beginning at 12noon local time (GMT +10hours). See the full order of play here: http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2013/339/op.pdf
The second semi-final features top seed and defending champion Andy Murray against fifth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan.
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Go, Marcos!
