The draw had also offered him an opponent for the less affordable, on paper at least. But Jordan Thompson (ATP 78) proved that the Australians were indeed the pet peeves of our Belgian number 1, who has 13 defeats for only 5 victories once morest players from the country of kangaroos on the ATP circuit (excluding Davis Cup and Olympic Games).
However, we believed it … A mastered first set (6-4), where David Goffin was much more accurate in his strikes than in recent weeks. Then a second set that had everything to smile at him, leading 3-1 before seeing the Australian come back into the game 3-4 and finally win 5-7.
Then, as too often, everything falls apart. David Goffin no longer manages to chain, shows haste in the exchanges and offers the points to his opponent. Quickly led 3 games to 0, mass seemed to be over for the Liégeois. This time, however, he was able to draw on his reserves and when he was up once morest the wall at 5-3, he broke his opponent to go up to 5-5.
The victory was finally going to be played in the tie-break. A tie-break in which the 71st in the world never managed to gain the upper hand. David Goffin lost 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 (3/7) in 2:45.
For the fourth consecutive time, he left the tournament in the first round. But worse, this defeat is even more painful than the previous ones.
