Photo: Ron C. Angle
Marcos exited the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2010 at the quarter-final stage Friday as World No. 9 Mikhail Youzhny fought back from a set and a break down to win 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1.
Marcos did extremely well to win the first set. Having trailed 2-5, he hit back to win four straight games and take the set to a tie-break. With the score level at 4-4, Marcos raised the level with two decisive backhands and good serving to take the first set.
After receiving treatment on a slight ankle injury, Marcos made a strong start to the second set, racing to a 3-0 double break advantage. However, Youzhny refused to concede the match and stepped his tennis up a gear in the following game to recoup one of the service breaks, reaping the rewards for playing attacking tennis. Sensing a momentum shift, Youzhny attacked again in the eighth game and broke serve to love to level at 4-4. Building on his momentum, the Russian then broke serve again in the 12th game as Marcos hit a forehand long to surrender the second set.
Buoyed by his second set fight back, US Open semi-finalist Youzhny carried his surge of momentum into the third set and broke serve twice as he raced away to seal victory in two hours and 40 minutes.
It was a strong start to the Asian swing for Marcos, who will look to further improve when he competes at the China Open in Beijing next week.
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