BELGIAN TENNIS – DAVID GOFFIN WON 14 MATCH WINNING STREAK

Written by: Staff on 24th October 2014

Swiss Indoors tennis tournament in Basel

BELGIAN TENNIS - DAVID GOFFIN WON 14 MATCH WINNING STREAK

epa04461369 Belgium's David Goffin returns to Canada's Milos Raonic during their quarter final match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS |

It’s a rarity when a 14-match winning streak isn’t even your best spell of the season. Such is the case though for resurgent Belgian David Goffin, who is happy for the 2014 season to just go on and on.

Twelve months ago told a very different story for Goffin. Burdened by the pressure of carrying Belgian hopes alone after the retirements of Xavier Malisse and Kim Clijsters, Goffin found himself struggling to live up to expectations after a breakthrough run at Roland Garros in 2012.

A fall that broke his left wrist in September curtailed Goffin’s 2013 campaign, just as he was preparing to lead his country in a Davis Cup World Group play-off tie with Israel.

But a remarkable comeback in 2014 has seen the 23-year-old Goffin surge up the Emirates ATP Rankings, breaking into the Top 30 for the first time after winning his fourth ATP Challenger Tour title of the season in Mons (d. Darcis) earlier this month. Standing at 5’11 and weighing just 68kg, he certainly hasn’t done it by blasting his opponents off the court.

Goffin has not lost a match since a four-set defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in the US Open third round. Barclays ATP World Tour Finals contender Milos Raonic will be the next player to try to halt Goffin’s winning run in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel.

Belgium’s David Goffin returns to Canada’s Milos Raonic during their quarter final match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

Canada’s Milos Raonic returns to Belgium’s David Goffin during their quarterfinal match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

“It’s another streak, but I don’t count the wins,” said Goffin, who wasn’t even aware of his latest tally. Possibly winning 25 matches in a row over the summer can lead to a carefree approach to such numbers.

“I do my best every match. If my level is high, the results are coming after that. I try to stay focused on my level and what I have to do on the court. At the Australian Open, I will be seeded, so it’s a great opportunity to win some matches. I’m waiting for 2015. I’m enjoying myself on the court and I’m going to do my best.

“Physically, I’m a small guy, but I try to do my best with my weapons. Even if I’m not big, my serve is not bad. I move well on the court.”

It was a first-round exit to Andy Murray at Wimbledon that sparked the turnaround for Goffin. Lacking in confidence after failing to win back-to-back tour-level matches in the first six months of the season, the right-hander decided to play on the ATP Challenger Tour in search of some much-needed wins. But not in his wildest dreams did he expect what happened next.

In a span of four weeks, Goffin won three ATP Challenger Tour titles in a row before storming through the field in Kitzbuhel to win his first ATP World Tour title, beating home favourite Dominic Thiem in the final. The run ultimately ended the following month in a quarter-final defeat to Jerzy Janowicz in Winston-Salem, where Goffin had won a further five matches after qualifying into the main draw.

David Goffin of Belgium celebrates after beating Dominic Thiem of Austria in their final match at the ATP tennis tournament in Kitzbuehel, Austria, 02 August 2014. Goffin won 4-6, 6-1 and 6-3. EPA/EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

“Of course I didn’t expect so much success,” said Goffin. “I played on the ATP Challenger Tour to get some confidence because after Wimbledon, where I had a tough match with Murray, the confidence was not there. But match after match on the Challenger Tour, I was playing better. Now the confidence is there.

“I am more consistent now,” continued the 23-year-old Goffin, who won his second ATP World Tour title last month in Metz (d. Sousa) before the victory in Mons.

“In 2012, after the French Open, the pressure was on me because in Belgium, I’m the only player now. Belgium was expecting a lot of results after the French Open, but with the injury in 2013 it was tough for me to back it up. Now, I’m feeling better and more confident. I believe in myself and I’m sure I can go to the top of the rankings.”

(Courtesy of the ATP, Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/10/43/Basel-Goffin-Feature.aspx?utm_source=ATPMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ATP%20World%20Tour%20Insider%20#42%20-%20October%2023%202014%20%281%29 )

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp, Belgian Tennis, David Goffin, GRIGOR DIMITROV, milos raonic

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October 24, 2014 at 12:04 pm

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