David Goffin held his nerve to edge out Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of the Shanghai Masters.
The Belgian 11th seed has to contend with an array of work class shots from his Argentine opponent at the start of the match as he trailed by a set and a break. Battling back from behind, Goffin managed to take advantage of some tentative serving from del Potro to grab a double break and secure the second set.
The titanic encounter between the two continued in the deciding set with a series of breaks of serve exchanged between both players. A double handed backhand down the line enabled Goffin to grab his second consecutive break as he eased to a 4-2 lead in the decider before Del Potro once again clawed his way back to level 4-4. The decisive break occurred at 5-5 when a forehand shank from the Argentine allowed Goffin to serve for the match. The match was then closed out in style with back-to-back aces from the world No.12.
“It was a tough match today against a champion like Juan Martin. He has played so many matches and has has played really well over the last few weeks.” Said Goffin during his on court interview.
“It was a good match today and I hope I can continue playing good tennis further in the week.” He added.
Goffin’s marathon win has set him up with a second round meeting against France’s Benoit Paire. Paire defeated Joao Sousa in three sets on Monday.
Kyrgios Matches On, Ferrer out
Nick Kyrgios enjoyed a more straightforward route into the second round with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Sam Querrey. The Australian, who clinched the Japan Open title last week in Tokyo, fired 14 aces and faced no break points throughout his one-sided triumph. The twelve seed will play German qualifier Mischa Zverev in the next round.
David Ferrer has become the first top 10 seed to exit Shanghai after losing a closely contested three-set match against Feliciano Lopez. After successfully saving two match points at 4-5 in the final set, Ferrer was eventually edged out 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4) by his compatriot. Lopez’s win has ended his eight-match losing streak to Ferrer and it is his first triumph over the 34-year-old since the 2009 edition of the Shanghai Masters.
Other first round winners at the tournament include Lucas Pouille. The Frenchman required just under an hour to dismiss Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3. Pouille, who recently won his maiden ATP title in Metz, dropped only eight points on his serve throughout the match. He faces Nicolas Almagro in the next round.
