David Goffin has become the first Belgian singles player in the 48-year history of the Nitto ATP Finals to qualify for the prestigious season finale. He will join World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, six-time champion Roger Federer, debutants Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov, and former qualifiers Dominic Thiem and Marin Cilic in the elite eight-man field at The O2 in London from 12-19 November.
Goffin is the seventh player to secure his place as a result of play at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday. He served as an alternate at 2016 Nitto ATP Finals, replacing the injured Gael Monfils in one round-robin match (l. to Djokovic).
“I would have preferred to have qualified by winning my match and Lucas is a friend but I am still so happy to have qualified!” said Goffin. “It is every player’s dream to make the (Nitto ATP) Finals and it is my first time there so I can’t wait to get to London!”
The 26-year-old Goffin has compiled the best season of his career, with his first 50+ match wins record and as the first Belgian to break into the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 10 on 20 February. He ended a six-match losing streak in finals with back-to-back ATP World Tour titles in October at the Shenzhen Open (d. Dolgopolov) and the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017 in Tokyo (d. Mannarino).
He also finished as runner-up in consecutive finals in February at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open (l. to Dimitrov) and the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (l. to Tsonga). Goffin earned the biggest victory of his career over then No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic in April at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (l. to Nadal in SFs) and has compiled a 20-6 match record since 28 August.
With less than one week left of the regular 2017 ATP World Tour season, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta currently holds the last remaining qualification berth, but could still be ousted by one of Juan Martin del Potro, Lucas Pouille, Roberto Bautista Agut, John Isner and Jack Sock subject to results in Paris this week.
The eight-team doubles field is already set, featuring Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo, defending champions Henri Kontinen/John Peers, 2015 titlists Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau, Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares, four-time former winners Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut, Ivan Dodig/Marcel Granollers and Ryan Harrison/Michael Venus.
The Nitto ATP Finals welcomes more than 250,000 fans to The O2 arena each year, as well as generating a global TV viewership of more than 100 million, as the ATP’s best eight singles players and doubles teams of the season compete over eight days at the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world.
Emirates ATP Race to London – Top 22 (as of end of play Wednesday, 1 November 2017)
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About the Nitto ATP Finals
The Nitto ATP Finals is the year-end climax to the men’s professional tennis season, featuring only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams as they battle it out for the last title of the season. Players compete for Emirates ATP Rankings points throughout the season in a bid to earn one of the eight coveted berths and a chance to win the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world. Played using a round-robin format, each player plays three matches as they compete for a berth in the knockout semi-finals and beyond. The prestigious tournament has been contested in major cities around the world with a rich history dating back to the birth of The Masters in 1970 in Tokyo. Since 2000 the event has taken place in cities such as Lisbon, Sydney, and Shanghai. In 2009 the tournament was moved to London, where it will be played through 2020. For more information, please visit www.NittoATPFinals.com.
Topics: David Goffin, Nitto ATP Finals, Tennis