Photo: Henk Koster, ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Marcos is through to the second round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament after dismissing American James Blake 6-4, 6-2 in Rotterdam on Wednesday evening.
Playing his first match since injuring his shoulder at the Australian Open, Marcos looked back to full fitness and top form as he ruthlessly ended Blake's challenge in just 67 minutes.
Erratic play from Blake proved costly in the seventh game of the first set as the Tampa resident made three successive forehand errors to trail 0/40. Marcos was quick to capitalise, converting his second break point chance with an excellent forehand crosscourt passing shot to lead 4-3. A strong serving game at 5-4 closed out the one-set lead for Marcos, with Blake hitting a backhand return long to surrender the game.
Marcos quickly built on his momentum and extended his lead as he raced to a 3-1 lead in the second set. A rifling backhand passing shot up the line earned him another break point in the fifth game and he secured a 4-1 lead as Blake miss-hit a forehand wide.
Strong serving was a feature of Marcos' game throughout - he won 83 per cent of points behind his first serve - and he was untroubled as he served out the match, sealing victory as Blake landed a service return long.
"I was really happy with the way I started the match, very solid," said Marcos. "James didn't play the best match, hitting a few more unforced errors than normal, but I stayed concentrated, served well and it was enough for the victory so I am very happy.
"It's hard to play against somebody going for so many winners like James was today, but I moved well and made some great passing shots at important moments."
Victory marks Marcos' first win in Rotterdam and earns him a second-round clash with second-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who earlier defeated Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.
Playing World No. 6 Davydenko will be another step up for Marcos, with the Russian having started the year in fine form - winning his 20th ATP World Tour title in Doha and reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.
Marcos goes into the clash with the confidence of having a 2-1 career lead over Davydenko. After losing to the Volgograd native in their first meeting at the 2006 Sony Ericsson Open, Marcos defeated Davydenko in the 2007 Wimbledon fourth round and later that same year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris (Bercy).
Marcos vs. Davydenko: Head-to-Head
The match is schedule for the same time on centre court tomorrow, beginning not before 7:30 pm local time (GMT +1hr). Check out the full order of play here.
Official live streaming of Rotterdam begins on Thursday and you can find more information at TennisTV. The only country where the streaming is not available is The Netherlands, which has live television coverage of the ATP World Tour 500 tournament.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news from Rotterdam.
Go, Marcos!
