David Goffin will play his first match since the French Open on Wednesday afternoon against qualifier Attila Balázs at the Umag Open in Croatia.
The world No.14 missed the entire grass-court season after injuring his right ankle at Roland Garros. During his third round meeting with Horacio Zeballos, Goffin tripped over the tarp at the back of the court. The tarp is used to cover the court over night. As a result, he badly injured his ankle and had to retire from the match.
In a recent interview, Goffin’s coach Thierry Van Cleemput commented that the Belgian is now fully fit and has decided return to action in Umag to help ease him back on the tour. Goffin is the top seed in the tournament and is one of two top-20 players participating alongside Gael Monfils.
“His injury is 100% healed, he has regained his mobility,” Van Cleemput told RTBF.BE. “He can play and run, he is happy, but he is not yet ready to perform in competition. What we chose Umag and Gstaad to resume is a programmed strategy, these are preparatory tournaments for the hard-court season.”
With the US Open less than six weeks away, Goffin’s decision to return to action on the clay was a deliberate one. His coach explained that playing on the surface would be ‘less stressed’ on his ankle. It is for this reason why he is also playing in next weeks Gstaad Open in Switzerland, where he is also set to be the top seed.
“On the clay court, his body will be less stressed, the impact will be smoother and the direction changes less brutal, it is more tender, it can slip, it is better for his confidence,” Coach Van Cleemput explained.
Over the summer, the goal of the 26-year-old will be to ‘regain confidence’ in time for the US Open. Goffin has only reached the third round of the tournament twice and lost in the first round last year.
Earlier in the year Goffin reached back-to-back finals in Sofia and Rotterdam after reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. The run that elevated him to a ranking best of 10th in the world.
This week Goffin is bidding to win only his third ATP title and first since the 2014 Moselle Open.
