Marcos fell short in his attempt to overturn world number 1 Rafael Nadal at the Mutua Open in Madrid today. Nadal, unbeaten now for 35 matches on clay, convincingly dispatched Marcos 6-1, 6-3.
Marcos went into the match full of confidence, particularly after beating Nadal in their last meeting in Cincinnati. However, the Spaniard is an entirely different proposition on clay, where he is unbeaten since 2009. The match was effectively killed off after Nadal raced to a first set lead.
Nadal managed to craft himself a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Marcos had begun to ask questions of his opponent, playing a superb backhand winner to take the game to deuce. It was only one of a few moments of fantasy tennis Marcos produced to keep the crowd excited and involved. Nadal managed to hold serve, and the players then held out serve until Nadal wrapped up the set 6-3.
