Marcos notched his second Top 20 win of the year in upsetting fourth seed Bernard Tomic 7-6(7), 6-3 in the second round of the If Stockholm Open.
In June, Marcos toppled World No. 7 David Ferrer on the grass in Nottingham and on Wednesday he would fire 15 aces and convert on all three break chances to defeat Tomic, in what was their first meeting on the ATP World Tour. Marcos refused to give in after falling behind 4-1 in the first set, breaking back two games later and denying four set points by Tomic. The Australian led 6-4 in the ensuing tie-break, but Marcos would reel off five of the next six points to claim the opener.
The second set followed a similar script, with Marcos once again rallying from an early deficit after being broken in the fifth game. He would not lose another game, however, breaking back for 3-3 and later converting on his first match point for the win in one hour and 28 minutes.
"I played very smart today," said Marcos following the match. "I used my slice a lot, I used my brain a lot. It was important to do that against Bernie. You need to be smart on court and not hurry too much. I think I did that very well.
Marcos, who claimed one of his four ATP World Tour titles here in Stockholm in 2009, will face old foe Gilles Muller in the quarter-finals. Marcos won their lone meeting this year in the Atlanta semi-finals, prevailing in a deciding tie-break after two hours and 34 minutes.
"I played him this year in Atlanta and I know him since juniors when we were 14 years old. I will try to work on some things tomorrow and I know his game, so I will try to come 100 percent ready on Friday."
Marcos is also slated to contest his doubles opener on Wednesday evening, alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis. The duo will face Wimbledon semi-finalists Jonathan Erlich and Philipp Petzschner.
