It has been smooth sailing for Marcos in three encounters against World No. 10 Richard Gasquet, having not dropped a set. He will hope to make it 4-for-4 when they square off in the Open Sud de France quarterfinals.
Marcos needed one hour and 40 minutes to defeat Japan's Taro Daniel 6-2, 7-6(7) on Wednesday, setting the blockbuster clash against Gasquet, who is the top seed and defending champion this week in Montpellier.
Marcos had little trouble in the opening set against Daniel, breaking in both the third and fifth games in racing to a 6-2 lead. The second set proved to be slightly trickier, as he rallied from a 1-4 deficit after dropping serve in the fourth game. Marcos saved a total five set points towards the end of the set, as he broke back with Daniel serving to force a decider at 5-4. He would save two additional set points in the ensuing tiebreak, eventually sealing the win 9-7.
In total, Marcos fired eight aces and won an impressive 93 per cent (26/28) of first serve points. He saved four of five break points faced.
With a spot in the semis on the line, Marcos will hope to extend his strong run against Gasquet. He previously scored wins in the 2010 Sydney final, 2012 London Olympics and 2013 Rotterdam second round.
