Photo: Mike Baz
Marcos came through a tight finish against Xavier Malisse on Saturday to defeat the Belgian 6-2, 7-6(4) and reach the final of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on another warm day in Washington D.C.
Marcos is through to his second ATP World Tour final of the season; he won his fourth career title in Sydney at the start of the year. He will face Argentine David Nalbandian as he bids to be crowned champion of the ATP World Tour 500 event.
Two excellent passing shots helped Marcos set up two break point chances in the third game of the match and he converted as Malisse hit a forehand long. With his opponent struggling to find his best tennis, the likes of which saw him oust top seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals, Marcos pressed on and broke serve again to open up a commanding 5-1 lead. He went on to close out the first set with a very comfortable service game.
Marcos was denied on break point opportunities in the first and third game of the second set before he found himself in trouble in the eighth game as an improved Malisse began to dictate from the baseline and a forehand winner earned him a break point. Marcos was let off the hook as a powerful backhand from Malisse landed just long, but in reaching for the shot, Marcos injured his left ankle and required a medical timeout for ice and strapping.
Upon returning to the court his ankle was given a good test with two lengthy points, which he managed to win to hold serve at 4-4. He then broke serve in the 11th game, catching Malisse out with a drop shot to earn the break point before converting as a forehand from Malisse clipped the net and landed out. However, Marcos faltered in serving for the match, paying the price for unforced errors and nervy play as Malisse hit back to force a tie-break.
Marcos recovered well in the tie-break and strong serving, coupled with two unforced errors from Malisse saw him race to a 6-1 lead. Malisse denied Marcos on the first three match points, before Marcos sealed victory with a marvelous point, moving his opponent around the court before forcing an error after one hour and 47 minutes of play.
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“It (the ankle) looked fine at the end and I was moving pretty good. Hopefully I won't have pain tonight and it will be fine tomorrow,” Marcos said afterwards. “Right now I am going to enjoy my victory. I’m very happy I won and it was a great fight.”
Nalbandian, a wild card entrant this week, book his place in the final with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win over fourth-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic. The former Wimbledon finalist has dropped only one set this week, against Gilles Simon in the quarter-finals.
Marcos takes an encouraging 3-1 career lead over Nalbandian into the match, although this will be their first meeting since Wimbledon in 2007, when Marcos won in straight sets. In their only previous hard-court meeting, at the 2006 Australian Open, Marcos came from two sets down to win in five.
Check out their full head-to-head details here.
The final is scheduled to start not before 3:00pm local time (8pm UK, 10pm Cyprus) on Stadium court. See the full order of play here.
Watch the final live online on TennisTV (territory restrictions apply)
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news and photos from Washington.
Go, Marcos!
