Goffin takes thoughts of Federer into final at ATP Finals
Just over five years ago in the last 16 at the French Open, a will-o’-the-wisp of a lad led Roger Federer on a merry dance for a good 90 minutes, taking the first set 7-5 against the third seed before conceding the second by the same score. Federer eventually imposed himself on the Grand Slam tournament debutant in four sets.
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In the post-match interviews on court, 21-year-old David Goffin stood wide eyed in adoration as Federer reflected on the match and complimented the young Belgian’s nascent prowess.
An effusive Goffin then revealed that posters of the Swiss colossus had daubed his teenage bedroom in Liège. To the cynic it was somewhat outré but the bedazzled spectators on Court Suzanne Lenglen lapped up the soufflé.
Fast forward half a decade and battery may be the sincerest form of worship. On 18 November in the semi-final at the ATP Finals, Goffin, sporting a tad more meat on his wiry frame, beat Federer for the first time.
The victory came a few weeks after a 6-1 6-2 loss to Federer in the semi-final at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. There, Federer had legions of fans in his home town.
At the 02 Arena in south-east London, Federer also had the bulk of the crowd. And when the second seed, appearing in his 14th semi-final, swept through the first set 6-2, roars of delight resounded around the stadium as a repeat of the Swiss knifing appeared on the cards.
But Goffin, featuring at the eight man tournament for the first time, did not buckle. He played the match and not the hero.
He won the second set 6-3 and when he served for the match at 5-4, he was Federer like. He fired two aces past his opponent to take the game and claim the decider 6-4.
His ascent to Sunday’s showdown against Grigor Dimitrov mirrors his own journey on the ATP circuit. Since turning professional in 2009, Goffin has risen quietly from the outer reacher of the tour, to become a feared adversary but not a Grand Slam winning household name.
If he loses early in a tournament – for example to Julien Benneteau in the last 16 at the Paris Masters - it is a surprise for the cognoscenti. Nowadays, Goffin only goes down to the likes of Novak Djokovic or an Andy Murray.
On Monday at the ATP Finals, Goffin was supposed to be fodder for the top seed Rafael Nadal. He had never beaten the Spaniard in their two previous meetings. But an injured Nadal crumbled in three sets and withdrew from the tournament to nurse his creaky kees.
Goffin described the victory as bitter sweet because his adversary had not been fully fit. His joy was unalloyed following the success over Federer who offered up no health issues as a reason for his demise.
“I think he raised his game after the first set,” said Federer after the defeat. “I couldn’t follow any more. Maybe my game dropped because he was playing better. At the end he played extremely well and he was the better player on the court.”
With the two wins Goffin joins a select group. He is only the sixth player to overcome both Nadal and Federer during the same event.
The last man to do it was Djokovic at the 2015 ATP Finals. The Serb, who was in his pomp, accounted for Nadal in the semis and Federer in the final.
Goffin will have to pick off Dimitrov who handed him a Federer-like beating of 6-0 6-2 in the round robin match after the triumph over Nadal.
“It will be a different match,” said Goffin on the eve of the final. “It is the last match. You have to go for it. You have to go for the trophy. I will try to be really aggressive and to play like I did against Roger.”
Still thinking about his hero.
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