David Goffin has been tearing up something of a storm on the ATP tour since Wimbledon. In SW19, he faced Andy Murray in the second round, and though he was overwhelmed in the first couple of sets, he showed what he was capable of in the third, losing it 7-5.
Since then, Goffin has won 32 of 34 matches played, won 2 challengers and 2 ATP 250 titles in Kitzbuhel and Metz, and has risen to a career high ranking of 32.
His run has seen him beat 13 top 100 players, most notably Dominic Thiem and Phillip Kohlschrieber in Kitzbuhel, and Tsonga in Metz.
But what is next for Goffin after his success in Challengers and ATP 250 events? The next step would be ATP 500 events. This year Goffin has competed in only one ATP 500 event, in Acapulco, where he lost to eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov in the last sixteen.
After that, would come ATP 1000 events. Goffin has competed in only 3 this year, in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, having to qualify for all of them (he was ranked 98 at Indian Wells), and going out in the first round to players of the likes of Davydenko, Zeballos and Robredo.
Now, with his ranking high enough for direct entry to the big events, Goffin will be able to test his game against the likes of Djokovic, Federer and Wawrinka week in and week out. He trails Djokovic 0-2, Federer 0-1, Wawrinka 0-1, Murray 0-1, and is 0-0 against Nadal. Of those meetings with the current elite of the game, the most high profile one was against Federer at the 2012 French Open. Goffin won a set in that last sixteen match as a lucky loser. It was only Goffin’s fourth year on the tour, and he had only competed in a handful of events at ATP 250 level or above.
Against his generation, he trails Dimitrov 0-1, and is 0-0 with Nishikori, Del Potro, and Raonic. The lack of battles with his peers is down to Goffin’s lack of entry into the bigger events such as the ATP 500 events and above where such players make most of their appearances.
Famous for his creativity, style and touch, Goffin certainly has all the tools to reach his potential and get wins over his more accomplished peers. But tennis fans will have to wait a while to find out. Goffin’s next events are the challenger in Mons (Sep 29), and then the 250 event in Vienna (Oct.9). The decision to enter Mons when the lucrative Asian swing is going on, a swing which would have given Goffin both points, prizes and experience against the game’s top players, is an easy one to explain. Perhaps Goffin did not think his year would turn out quite so well as it has when he was making his schedule. It could also help him in the long run to not jet over to Asia and hop about for three weeks and then get back on a plane to Europe. Mons is also a Belgian event, and his appearance there will be much appreciated by Belgian tennis officials keen to have a male player step so confidently into the upper ranks of the men’s game, especially one so highly praised.
Goffin should get enough matches in those events in Mons and Vienna to see him match fit for the ATP 500 event in Basel, and then the real test in how far he has come at the ATP 1000 at Paris-Bercy, an event that is often successful for the lesser-known players as the elite take time off to prepare themselves for the ATP World Tour Finals. Goffin certainly has what it takes to profit from a weaker ATP 1000 draw, the question is will he?
Commentary by Christian Deverille
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