The unlucky right ankle injury last year would have left even the most optimistic of players wondering, “Why me?” David Goffin, while sprinting for a ball in his Roland Garros third-round match, rolled his ankle on the tarp at the back of the court, forcing him to withdraw from the Grand Slam.
You could call it bad luck, shrug your shoulders and try to move on.
But then once you factor in the freak accident the Belgian suffered in February at Rotterdam, when a passing shot clipped his racquet and crushed his left eye, you really do have to wonder why Goffin isn't shouting, “Why me?!”
The two injuries forced Goffin to miss a combined 10 weeks of tennis, stalling his progress and making him lose out on prize money and rankings points. But Goffin isn't one to pout or embrace a “woe-is-me” attitude.
The Belgian, who plays 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic on Monday for a place in the US Open quarterfinals, is one of the most resilient players on tour. Last year, Goffin won more deciding sets than anyone (22), and he came back the best, winning the most matches after losing the opening set (14).
This year, it's been more of the same from the 5-foot-11 right-hander. Goffin has won eight of his 11 final sets and both of his five-set matches. For his career, he's won 65 percent of his final sets (77-42), and almost 75 percent of his matches that have gone to five sets (11-4).
The Belgian's motto is simple: “You have to fight for each point,” he said.
He showed that tour-leading fight earlier this US Open. In his second-round match, Goffin won the first set against Dutchman Robin Haase, but Haase rallied and the two were even heading into the third. But Goffin ran away with it, winning 12 of the final 17 games to reach the third round in Flushing Meadows for the fourth time.
“I always have some tough matches against him. I always found the solution, like today,” said Goffin, who's beaten Haase in six of their seven meetings. “It was not easy to find a way to win the match, but I did... I played well when I had to.”
Goffin has consistently found some of his best tennis during the past few months on hard courts. In July, he made the quarterfinals in Washington, D.C., his first quarterfinal since May in Rome. He backed up that last-eight run with a semifinal finish at the US Open Series event in Cincinnati, beating Toronto finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Frenchman Benoit Paire, 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
“I'm just fighting since the first match. I'm moving well. I'm feeling fresh mentally. And match after match it was better and better,” Goffin said in Cincinnati. “I think when I move well, that's the key for my best tennis.”
In New York, Goffin has been moving well – and under the radar. As Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic have stolen the clicks, per usual, Goffin, the 10th-ranked male tennis player in the world, has garnered few bold-faced headlines or homepage stories, yet he's dropped only one set so far.
But don't expect to hear any complaints from Goffin, who narrows his attention to the on-court action. He'll try to reach his third Grand Slam quarterfinal and first since the 2017 Australian Open against Cilic, whom he has beaten three of the five times they've played, including two of three on hard courts.
“I had some ups and downs this year. Now since few weeks, I'm playing well. Had great results in Cincinnati. Had good preparation here... So I'm in a good period,” Goffin said. “It would be nice to finish the last major with a great tournament here.”
