Such is the system at the Kooyong Classic that players such as Nicolas Almagro or Pablo Carreño have left the event undefeated but, not only have they not won the title, they haven’t even had a shot at the final. Instead, David Goffin and Feliciano Lopez were the two participants in championship match, with the Belgian falling rather fortunately into the affaire after Nick Kyrgios retired when he was a set up against the Belgian.
Goffin made the most of the opportunity and swept past Lopez 6-4, 6-2. The Belgian broke at the all-important stage of 4-4 and served out the first set in 33 minutes. The tall left-handed Spaniard experienced a huge breakdown in his game in the second set and Goffin closed out the tie with 17 winners and a remarkable 5 breaks of serve.
“It was a fantastic week for me. This is the best way to prepare for the Grand Slam. The conditions are just what you expect for the Open”, said Goffin who faces Sergiy Stakhovsky in the opening round in Melbourne.
In the third-place playoff Pablo Carreño put in another solid display to dispatch Gille Simon 6-4, 3-6, 10-3. The man from Gijon rounded off his week with no defeats and feels prepared for next week’s Slam where he kicks off the event with a mammoth match against Nick Kyrgios. “It was a good match for me, I’m happy with my form. I’m ready for the Open. I had a tough match with Gilles but it will help to be ready for the Open”, concluded the Spaniard.
