Nine years later, Marcos got his revenge on Tomas Berdych at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.
A rematch of the 2007 final at the ATP World Tour 500 event, won by Berdych, Marcos completed a two-tiebreak upset of the fourth seed 7-6(3), 7-6(4) in one hour and 55 minutes. It was Marcos' 21st victory over a Top 10 opponent and first since beating David Ferrer on the grass of Nottingham last year.
“To beat Tomas anywhere, it's a great achievement and I'm happy that I did it today here,” said Marcos. “I think I put a lot of pressure on his serve with my returns. I mixed it up, tried to play some slice, tried to keep the ball low, not to let him be aggressive. I think I can play very well on grass. It suits my game, my style of play.”
His first grass-court win of the season was a special one for Marcos. After exchanging breaks in the third and fourth games of the first set, both players remained on serve. The opener would be decided in a tiebreak, with Marcos racing to a 5-1 lead and never looking back. He would then recover from a break deficit in the second set, pulling level at 4-4, before streaking to another 5-1 lead in the second set tiebreak. He converted his third match point when Berdych sent a backhand volley into the net.
Meeting for the seventh time, Marcos notched his third victory over the Czech, striking 19 winners, including 10 aces. Berdych struck 47 unforced errors to Marcos' 14.
Marcos will next face home hope Dustin Brown. It will be their fourth encounter, with Marcos owning a 3-0 head-to-head edge. He prevailed on the grass of Wimbledon in the 2014 first round.
