David Goffin negotiated a tough first round opponent as he defeated Simone Bolelli in straight sets to progress to round two.
Goffin and Bolelli had traded their two meetings in 2015 coming into the US Open, with Bolelli winning their encounter on the hardcourts of Sydney, and Goffin edging a tight match on the clay in Munich.
This was not a tight encounter though, as Goffin swept through with the loss of just seven games. The first set was close with Goffin saving three break points before securing the set with his only break opportunity. Goffin then moved up a gear, breaking three times and, as Bolelli’s challenge faltered, broke twice more in the final set. Goffin sealed the final two sets in less than an hour to win 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
Goffin was particularly impressive on serve serving thirteen aces, and managing a solid seventy-two percent success rate in second serve points won.
Goffin goes through to face the winner of Joao Sousa and Ricardas Berankis, a tie that looks to offer little threat in way of progression for the Belgian.
Goffin is seeded to meet spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut in the third round with a potential match-up with world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
Elsewhere, Mikhail Kukushkin was the beneficiary of a retirement when Yen-Hsun Lu conceded the match due to injury. Kukushkin had led 6-3, 6-3, 3-0 when the match was called.
