David Goffin has said that he ‘doesn’t think’ his retirement from the Western and Southern Open will have any impact on his campaign at the US Open.
Goffin was taking on world No.2 Roger Federer is the semi-finals on Saturday before retiring early on in the second set due to a shoulder injury. An anti-climatic end to what has been a stellar week for the 27-year-old. In Cincinnati, he has scored wins over Rogers Cup finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, Benoit Paire, Kevin Anderson and Juan Martin del Potro. A run that has moved him back into the world’s top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday.
“I’ve felt it for many days, but yesterday (Friday) at the end of the second match, against Delpo, I started to feel really my arm, and then it went from the shoulder to the elbow.” Goffin commented about his injury on Saturday.
“During the warmup I felt like I couldn’t serve 100%, so I started the match and I just wanted to see how it goes. I didn’t lose my serve, but I guess it was a little bit too dangerous because I start to feel it (the pain) a little bit more, so I decided to stop.”
It is far from ideal timing for Goffin to be hit be this problem. In eight days time the US Open will get underway at Flushing Meadows. Last year he achieved his best performance at the tournament by reaching the fourth round before crashing out to Andrey Rublev. In the grand slams, Goffin has reached the quarter-final stage twice in 24 attempts.
“I don’t think so. But we will see with my staff, with my doctor, my physio.” He replied when asked if the injury could impact on his US Open campaign.
“I think it was a tough week, and I need to rest my arm and rest my shoulder a little bit.” Goffin added.
Goffin will be the top seed at next week’s Winston-Salem Open. There has been no formal word on if he will play in the tournament. As it currently stands, he is set to face either Paolo Lorenzi or Marton Fucsovics in his first match.
On Monday, Goffin will rise to 10th in the ATP World Tour rankings.
UPDATE: Since this article was published, Goffin has withdrawn from Winston-Salem
https://twitter.com/WSOpen/status/1031188161152667648
