A moment of frustration with Goffin: his racket is the victim. — © BELGIUM
David Goffin (ATP-53) failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the ATP-250 hard court tournament in Auckland. In a duel between two former top 10 players, which was again disrupted by rain, the 32-year-old from Liège was defeated 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 after 1h35 by 36-year-old Frenchman Richard Gasquet (ATP -67).
Michael Van DammeBron: BELGIAN
“Richard is a pure talent,” said David Goffin. “He is always there and he is playing very well at the moment. He can do anything with a ball. You have to try and keep him running, be aggressive and play a good game because he has so much experience and he finished last season in a remarkable way. He already showed that in Antwerp, where he also beat me.”
Goffin succeeded, but only for one set, before completely losing his grip on the match. He gave up all four serves in the second set and was unable to get his head above water, despite being interrupted by rain. Richard Gasquet wanted to pay tribute to him anyway.
“I’m surprised,” Gasquet explained. “Surprised that I could play so well after the 6-1 in the first set. He was just too strong for me. But I’ve tried to fight. It’s my first time in this tournament. And I managed to show my best tennis in the last two sets. I started moving better and gained confidence as the second set progressed. And when we came back after the rain, I played perfect tennis. It was a great game and it feels good to be in the semi-finals.”
David Goffin now sets his sights on the Australian Open, where he will meet another Frenchman in the first round. There he will meet 28-year-old Laurent Lokoli (ATP-176) from Corsica, who has qualified for the main draw for the second time in his career, a year and a half after he stopped playing tennis because he was “physically, mentally and financially exhausted” .
