Photo: Henk Koster, ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Marcos enjoyed a smooth ride into the second round of the Open 13 in Marseille on Monday evening, cruising past German challenger Daniel Brands 6-3, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.
After being denied on three break points in Brands’ first service game, and needing to save a break point on his own serve in the following game, Marcos made the breakthrough in the eighth game to lead 5-3. Two aces then helped him to serve out the one-set lead to love.
Marcos swiftly built on his momentum, breaking World No. 96 Brands’ serve in the first game of the second set before establishing a 3-1 lead. A second break of serve in the fifth game, courtesy of a double fault from Brands, helped close out a comprehensive victory for Marcos, who is seeded seventh at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament.
In the second round Marcos will face one of two Frenchmen, either Michael Llodra, who finished runner-up to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final last year, or qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Marcos returns to the court on Tuesday as he and Thierry Ascione begin their doubles campaign against top seeds Julian Knowle and Robert Lindstedt. The match is scheduled not before 1:00 pm local time (+1hr GMT) on Court 1. Check out the full order of play here.
You’ll be able to follow live scores of the first-round doubles match here.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news on Marcos’ progress in Marseille.
Go, Marcos!
