LONDON: It was just a bad day at the office for David Goffin at the ATP Finals as he distanced himself away from any speculation of physical struggles.
The Belgian world No.8 only managed to win two games during his defeat to Grigor Dimitrov. Hitting a total of 28 unforced errors, he suffered his heaviest loss of 2017 to dent his chances of reaching the last four of the season-ending tournament.
“He was better today. We started the match really well from both sides. We had a lot of good rallies. It was a great intensity from the start.” Goffin said of Dimitrov.
“But he played well. He was a little bit more aggressive. He came to the net from the beginning, from the first point.”
48 hours prior to the match, Goffin was relishing in a career milestone. Facing Rafael Nadal, who was nursing an injury, he displayed some of his best tennis to get his maiden win over a world No.1 player. Becoming the first player from his country to do so on the ATP Tour.
Goffin could have easily put his marathon clash with Nadal down to his latest performance at The O2 Arena. Especially given the fact he is playing the tournament with tapping on his right knee. Nevertheless, the Belgian refuses to provide excuses. Declaring he is fully fit.
“It’s not a reason. I was feeling great.” He stated. “Physically I’m feeling 100%. Yeah, I don’t think it’s because it was a long match against Rafa. It’s just that, yeah, Grigor played well and it was not easy for me today.”
Dimitrov briefly debated Goffin’s current physical condition during his press conference. Discussing the potential reason behind his one-sided performance, the Bulgarian listed injury as one of the potential issues. In direct contradiction of Goffin’s statement from earlier in the day.
“Once you’re into the game, once you’re into the match, you don’t think about anything but how you can play better. I don’t know, maybe David had some health problems or something.” He said.
As the first player from his country to play in the season-ending tournament, Goffin is still in the mix of qualifying for the semifinals. His next opponent will be Dominic Thiem. A player who has already defeated twice this year and leads 6-3 in their head-to-head.
“This event is really important. It’s one of the biggest events of the year. I’m going to focus on the next match. If there is another one, I will be focused on the next one. Then we will see.” Goffin concluded.
Goffin’s year-to-date win-loss record now stands at 55-23.
