Marcos left it all on the court against top seed Rafael Nadal at the MercedesCup on Thursday, but he came up short 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-2.
Marcos, who was bidding to topple Nadal for the second time in their longtime rivalry, raced out to an early lead in the first set. He surged to a 4-2 advantage behind a break of serve in the fifth game and had three break points to pad his lead two games later.
But Nadal held his nerve, breaking back and eventually taking the opening set in a tie-break. The Spaniard would secure another break for 3-2 in the second set, but Marcos battled, firing a running forehand winner and benefiting from a Nadal backhand error to draw level at 3-3. He would claim seven straight points to take a 4-3 lead.
Marcos was striking his forehand with conviction and despite being unable to convert two set points on Nadal's serve at 5-4, he eventually captured the set in a tie-break. The match would be decided in a third set, where Nadal would pull away 6-2.
At two hours and 40 minutes, it was the longest best-of-three set match on grass in Marcos' career. He fired 12 aces and won 79 per cent of first serve points.
Marcos was looking to register his 20th win over a Top 10 opponent and first since Rotterdam 2013, when he defeated Richard Gasquet. He will look to continue his momentum next week as the grass season rolls along.
