Photo: Ron C. Angle
Marcos will begin his Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships campaign on Monday when he takes on eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon in the first round of the ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tournament.
World No. 16 Gilles Simon is playing just his second tournament of the season after falling in the first round in Marseille last year. The Frenchman, who is on the comeback from a serious knee injury, said he is looking to take it one match at a time as he looks to work his way back up to the Top 10 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings.
“I know that I can play better than what I am playing right now,” said Simon. “I need to be ready. I need to practise more. I need to be ready to run everywhere. I will just take one match at a time. I am just looking for the first one. I will try my best.”
Former World No. 6 Simon reached the semi-finals in Dubai last year, falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Marcos will face the 25-year-old Simon for the first time since 2007, when they met twice. Simon won their first meeting in the Marseille final, before Marcos levelled the head-to-head with victory in Halle.
The first-round match has received centre-court billing on Monday in Dubai and will be played second following a 2 pm start (+4hrs GMT). Check out the full order of play here.
Stay tuned to www.baghdatis.com for all the latest news from Dubai.
Go, Marcos!
