Juergen Hasenkopf
Marcos’ impressive campaign at the BMW Open has come to an end at the semi-final stage. Top seed Marin Cilic came from a set behind to beat Marcos 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday in Munich, setting up a final with two-time runner-up Mikhail Youzhny.
Marcos was contesting his first ATP World Tour clay-court semi-final since 2007, having beaten home hope Philipp Kohlschreiber on Friday, but came up against a resilient Cilic as he looked to reach his first clay-court final.
In World No. 11 Cilic’s words, Marcos “opened the match really good and played extremely well that first set.” He broke the top seed’s serve in the fourth game and solid serving saw him comfortable close out a one-set lead.
However, Cilic hit back in the second set, cutting out his unforced errors and improving his serve percentages as he broke serve twice to level the match at one-set all. Marcos was made to rue missed opportunities in the final set, squandering four break points in four separate games, and was made to pay as Cilic broke serve in the eighth game before serving out victory in two hours and 15 minutes.
It was a much-improved week for Marcos, who came into Munich on the back of two first-round losses in Monte-Carlo and Rome, and he will take confidence into next week’s Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, the third and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament.
The draw for Madrid was made today and Marcos learned that in the first round he will face Marco Chiudinelli, whom he defeated in the second round earlier this week.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for more news on the Madrid draw.
Go, Marcos!
