David Goffin


David Goffin is a Belgian professional tennis player whose career high ranking is world No. 7 by the Association of Tennis Professionals. He is currently the highest ranked Belgian male and the first to reach the ATP top 10. Goffin has won four ATP titles, and has reached nine other ATP finals, most notably at the 2017 ATP World Tour Finals.
Goffin's breakthrough occurred during his first appearance in the main draw of a grand slam, at the 2012 French Open as a lucky loser. He reached the fourth round where he lost to Roger Federer in four sets. Goffin has reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 French Open and the 2017 Australian Open, losing to rivals Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov respectively. At the 2017 ATP World Tour Finals, Goffin defeated Dominic Thiem, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and world No. 2 Roger Federer en route to the final where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov.

Playing style and endorsements

Goffin plays a baseline-oriented game, and he is considered to be an offensive baseliner, with accurate and powerful groundstrokes. He has a good forehand, which he uses to good effect and to move opponents around the court, but his two-handed backhand is his strongest shot, particularly down-the-line. It is considered to be one of the best two-handers on tour. Both wings are capable of producing winners. He is also one of the best returners in the game, winning 53.9% of second serve return points in 2017. He has a good serve, capable of reaching 125 mph. He is an excellent mover around the court as well, and he is excellent at retrieving tricky balls. He is solid at the net, but this isn't one of his major assets.
Goffin is sponsored by Wilson for his racquets and Asics for his clothing and footwear. He uses the Wilson Blade 98 18x20 Countervail racquet.

Tennis career

Juniors

As a junior, he compiled a singles win/loss record of 76–40, reaching as high as No. 10 in the junior combined world rankings in July 2008. He took part in only two junior slams, losing in the second round of the French Open and the first round of Wimbledon in 2008.

2009 – 2011

Throughout the 2009 season, Goffin played Futures and Challenger tournaments. His best result of the year came when he qualified for Todi, Italy. He won four consecutive matches after qualification, eventually succumbing to Simon Greul, ranked 84, in a semifinal in straight sets.
In 2010, Goffin played Futures and Challenger tournaments throughout the year with varying results. He finished the year ranked 233.
Goffin won his first match on the ATP tour at the 2011 Chennai open, defeating India's No. 1, Somdev Devvarman. He lost in the second round to Stanislas Wawrinka.

2012: Breakthrough

In 2012, he reached the quarterfinals of an ATP World Tour tournament for the first time at the 2012 Chennai Open, after defeating top-50 countryman Xavier Malisse and Andreas Beck.
At the French Open 2012, though he did not win in the last qualifying round of the qualifications, he entered the tournament's main draw as a lucky loser thanks to the withdrawal of Gaël Monfils. In his first round, he faced world no. 27 and 23rd seed for men's singles Radek Štěpánek and beat him in five sets. The second round saw Goffin take on French veteran player Arnaud Clément whom he beat in five sets in a match postponed due to rain at a score of 5–1 the previous day. Goffin then beat Łukasz Kubot in the third round to become the first lucky loser to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam since compatriot Dick Norman at Wimbledon 1995. Goffin was eventually eliminated by third seed Roger Federer, but not before managing to win the first set.
He received one of the wild cards for Wimbledon, and in the first round he beat 20th seed and 2011 quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic. Then, in the second round, he beat Jesse Levine to advance to the third round, where he ultimately lost to the resurgent 10th seed Mardy Fish.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he lost in the first round of the men's singles to Juan Monaco.
At the US Open, he entered the main draw, but lost in the first round to world no. 7, sixth seed, and eventually semifinalist at the tournament Tomáš Berdych.
He then won two singles matches to secure Belgium a place in the 2013 Davis Cup World Group.

2013: Inconsistencies

Goffin started the season by making his debut at the 2013 Brisbane International. He defeated wildcard Matthew Ebden, before losing to seventh seed Jürgen Melzer in the second round.
In the first round of the French Open, he faced then-No. 1, Novak Djokovic. He proved a challenge for Djokovic, but lost the match in straight sets. Goffin's performance as well as Djokovic's laboured efforts in defeating him were the subject of brief attention to the quality of Goffin's playing.
Goffin made it to the third round in Cincinnati, where he was again defeated by Djokovic. He qualified in Winston-Salem and defeated Jack Sock in the first round, but lost to Dmitry Tursunov in the second round. He did not play any tournaments in 2013 after the US Open, where he lost in the first round to Alexandr Dolgopolov.

2014: Maiden ATP World Tour title

Goffin had to retire in his second-round match at the Challenger event in New Caledonia, and he withdrew from qualifying for the Australian Open due to a left quadriceps injury.
From July to August, following his opening round loss at Wimbledon to defending champion Andy Murray, Goffin won four consecutive tournaments. The first three were Challengers, but the fourth was his maiden ATP tour-level title when he won the Austrian Open Kitzbühel, beating Dominic Thiem in the final. During this run, Goffin won 40 out of the 42 sets he played and won 20 consecutive matches.
In September, after reaching the third round of the US Open for the first time, he won his second career ATP title, the Moselle Open in Metz, France, beating higher seeded players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals and João Sousa in the final. His run from July to September launched him over 75 places up the rankings, putting him into the world's top 40 for the first time in his career.
At the Swiss Indoors in Basel, he advanced to his first ATP 500 tournament final, beating Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals, his first win over a top-10 player. He lost the final to five-time champion Roger Federer in straight sets; however, his run to the final propelled him to a career-high ranking of No. 22 in the world, a ranking with which he would finish the 2014 season. After having started the year ranked 111th in the world, Goffin ended the season ranked just outside the top 20, a difference of 89 places, and as a result he was awarded the Comeback Player of the Year award by the ATP for 2014.

2015: Top 20, Davis Cup final

2015 saw Goffin have continued success, reaching two more ATP finals and breaking into the world's top 20, as well as decent runs in the major tournaments. His season was highlighted by being the driving force in the Belgium Davis Cup team's surprise run to the final, which they lost to Great Britain, Goffin being defeated by Andy Murray in the decisive fourth rubber after having earlier won the second rubber against Kyle Edmund.

2016: Top 15, French Open quarterfinal

Goffin reached fourth round for the first time at 2016 Australian Open, where he lost to Roger Federer in straight sets. In March at Indian Wells, he reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal, where he lost to Milos Raonic. He followed it up with another semifinal defeat in Miami, losing to Novak Djokovic in straights sets. He next competed in the Monte Carlo Masters. He defeated Feliciano Lopez in the first round. He then played Fernando Verdasco and won in a close match. He then lost to lucky loser Marcel Granollers. Goffin then competed in the BMW Open. In his first match, he defeated Victor Estrella Burgos. He then played Alexander Zverev and lost. At the Mutua Madrid Open despite having four match points, he lost in the first round to Lucas Pouille. Then he competed in the Rome Masters. He won his first match against Leonardo Mayer. He next played Jack Sock in the second round, winning in straight sets. He then played world No. 8 Tomáš Berdych and defeated him without losing a single game. In the quarterfinals, he lost to second seed Andy Murray.
At the 2016 French Open, he played the first round against wild card Grégoire Barrère. He won in straight sets. In the second round, he played against qualifier Carlos Berlocq and won again in straight sets. In the third round, he won in a more than 3 hours match against Nicolás Almagro. In the fourth round, he won in four sets against Ernests Gulbis. His tournament ended in the quarterfinals, where he lost to Dominic Thiem in four sets. At Wimbledon, he won in the first and second round in straight sets. In the third round, he needed four sets to win against Denis Istomin. In the fourth round, he lost to Milos Raonic after he had a 2-0 advance in sets.
Goffin reached the third round of the men's singles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, beating Sam Groth and Dudi Sela before unexpectedly losing to Thomasz Bellucci.
Goffin was upset in the first round of the 2016 U.S. Open, losing in four sets to 19-year-old American Jared Donaldson. Goffin took part in the Tour Finals as a reserve after Gaël Monfils had to withdraw due to injury. Goffin was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the round-robin stage.

2017: Top 10, ATP Finals runner-up and second Davis Cup final

Goffin started 2017 at the World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. He defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals and top seed Andy Murray in the semifinals, before losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Qatar Open, he defeated Robin Haase in the opening round before losing to Fernando Verdasco in the second round. Goffin reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the second time in Melbourne, following victories over Reilly Opelka, Radek Štěpánek, Ivo Karlović and Dominic Thiem. He was then defeated in straight sets by Grigor Dimitrov.
In February, Goffin defeated defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the final of the Sofia Open. There, he lost in straight sets again to Dimitrov. A week later, he recorded his first victory over Dimitrov in the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open. Goffin went on to reach his second-straight final, but lost in three sets to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This resulted in him achieving a top ten ranking for the first time, becoming the first Belgian man to do so.
After losing in the Round of 16 at both Indian Wells and Miami, Goffin led the Belgian Davis Cup team to victory over Italy in the World Group quarterfinals by winning both of his singles rubbers against Andreas Seppi and Paolo Lorenzi.
At the Monte Carlo Masters, Goffin defeated World No. 9 Dominic Thiem and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic to reach the semifinals. There, he lost in straight sets to the eventual champion, Rafael Nadal. He went on to reach the quarterfinals in Madrid and the round of 16 in Rome, falling to Nadal and Marin Cilic, respectively.
At the 2017 French Open, Goffin was forced to retire whilst leading his third round match against Horacio Zeballos. He injured his right ankle when he tripped on a tarpaulin by the side of the court.
Goffin returned to the tour in July with early losses at Umag and Gstaad. Following second and first round losses in Montréal and Cincinnati, respectively, Goffin reached the fourth round of the US Open for the first time. There, he lost to Andrey Rublev in straight sets. He then led Belgium to another Davis Cup victory against Australia in the World Group semifinals with four-set wins in both his singles rubbers against Nick Kyrgios and John Millman. With this win, Belgium reached its second Davis Cup final in three years, having lost to Great Britain in the 2015 final.
In October, Goffin won back-to-back titles in Shenzen and Tokyo. His title in Shenzhen was his third career title and first on the main tour since 2014, having lost in his six previous finals. By winning his first ATP 500 title in Tokyo, Goffin returned to the top ten, having been absent since May.
Goffin qualified outright for the season-ending ATP Finals for the first time, having played as an alternate for Gaël Monfils in 2016. In the round-robin stage, victories over World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem secured him the runner-up spot in the Pete Sampras Group, behind Grigor Dimitrov. He beat Roger Federer for the first time in his career in the semifinal, ending a six match losing streak against him. Goffin became the sixth player to beat Federer and Nadal at the same event and the first since Nikolay Davydenko in 2009 to beat the top two-ranked players at year-end finals. In the final, Goffin was beaten by Dimitrov, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3. He ended the year with a career-high ranking of No. 7.
In his final event of the season, Goffin represented Belgium in the Davis Cup World Group final against France in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France on 24–26 November. Despite Goffin winning both his singles rubbers against Lucas Pouille and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Belgian team were defeated 2–3. Goffin ended the year having won all six of the singles rubbers he played in 2017, against France, Italy in the quarterfinals, and Australia in the semifinals.

2018

Goffin started the season at the Australian Open but was upset in the second round by Julien Benneteau. He rebounded from this disappointing start to the year by winning both of his singles rubbers against Attila Balazs and Márton Fucsovics to help Belgium win its Davis Cup World Group first round tie against Hungary and set up a quarterfinal matchup against the United States. Goffin then reached back-to-back semifinals at the Open Sud de France and the Rotterdam Open, where he lost to Richard Gasquet and Grigor Dimitrov, respectively. In Rotterdam, Goffin was forced to retire from his semifinal match against Dimitrov after a ball ricocheted off his racquet and hit him in the left eye. Due to swelling caused by the injury, Goffin withdrew from the Marseille Open, where he would have been the top seed. Two weeks later he also had to withdrew from Indian Wells. Goffin made his comeback in Miami, but was eliminated by João Sousa in his first match, having won only a game. After the Miami Open he had to return to Belgium to check his eye. Because of this check-up he wasn't able to participate in the World Group quarterfinals against the United States. Belgium lost by 4 rubbers to 0.
He reached the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov. He then competed at Barcelona, where he reached the semifinals, falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. At Rome, he reached the quarterfinals where he lost to defending champion Alexander Zverev. At the 2018 French Open, he reached the fourth round before losing to Marco Cecchinato, who went on to upset Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. In the grass season, Goffin lost in the first round of both Queen's and Wimbledon.
At Washington, Goffin reached the quarterfinals where he was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas. He lost in the first round of the 2018 Rogers Cup to Milos Raonic. He then saw a good performance at the Cincinnati Masters, defeating sixth seed Kevin Anderson and fourth seed Juan Martín del Potro on his way to the semifinals facing Roger Federer, where he was forced to retire due to injury after losing the first set tiebreak. At the 2018 US Open, he matched his 2017 performance, reaching the fourth round where he lost to Marin Čilić in straight sets. He had to end his season after a loss to Andy Murray in the Shenzhen Open in September because of pain in his elbow.

2019: First Masters final

Goffin began his season at the Qatar Open where in singles he was upset by Ričardas Berankis in the first round. In the doubles with Pierre-Hugues Herbert he claimed his first ATP doubles title. He reached the third round of the Australian Open, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev. After early losses at Lyon and Rotterdam, he made the semifinals in Marseille, where he lost to top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. In the clay season, he reached one semifinal, at the Estoril Open, again being defeated by Tsitsipas. At the French Open, he was defeated in the third round by Rafael Nadal.
Goffin had a productive grass season, reaching the quarterfinals at 's-Hertogenbosch and reaching the final of the ATP 500 event in Halle. Despite being unseeded, Goffin defeated eighth seed Guido Pella and second seed Alexander Zverev en route to the final, where he was defeated by top seed and nine-time champion Roger Federer. At Wimbledon, Goffin was seeded 21st, defeating Bradley Klahn, Jérémy Chardy, 11th seed Daniil Medvedev, and Fernando Verdasco to reach his first quarterfinal at the tournament. There, he was defeated by top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic.
In the North American hard court season, Goffin suffered early defeats in Washington and Montreal. Defending a semifinal appearance at the Cincinnati Masters, Goffin was the 16th seed. He defeated Taylor Fritz, Guido Pella, Adrian Mannarino before receiving a walkover over Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinals. He defeated Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the semifinals to reach his first Masters 1000 final. There, he was defeated by ninth seed Daniil Medvedev.

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Current through the 2020 Australian Open.
Tournament2011201220132014201520162017201820192020SRW–LWin%
Australian OpenQ1Q21RA2R4RQF2R3R3R0 / 713–7
French OpenA4R1R1R3RQF3R4R3R0 / 816–8
WimbledonQ33R1R1R4R4RA1RQFNH0 / 712–7
US OpenQ31R1R3R3R1R4R4R4R0 / 813–8
Win–Loss0–05–30–42–38–410–49–37–411–42–10 / 3054–30

Year-End championships

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Profiles