On his favorite surface, the Spaniard continued the momentum. He broke once more on Goffin’s second serve (2-1). But the Belgian did not admit defeat. In character, he regained the hair of the beast at the end of the 2nd round. David Goffin made the suspense last, by dismissing a first match point from his opponent at 5-3, the start of a comeback. Goffin reduced the score to 5-4. And he saved a second match point, before equalizing at 5-5.
With newfound confidence, the Liégeois even passed in front for the first time in this second round (6-5). Goffin even offered himself a set point (5-6, 30-40), saved by a Rafael Nadal who clenched his fist in anger, a sign of the turbulence he was going through.
Not disconcerted and much more aggressive, the Liégeois confirmed in an authoritarian manner his renewed confidence by converting his second break point. Goffin therefore offered himself this second set (5-7). For the second time in his career, the Belgian won a set once morest Nadal on clay, following having jostled him in 2019 in the 3rd round of Roland Garros.
