David Goffin took his comeback from a spring and summer knee injury to new heights when he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the Shenzhen Open final on Sunday. Goffin, who started regaining momentum with a fourth-round appearance at the U.S. Open, triumphed after two hours and three minutes.
The Belgian withstood 15 aces off the racket of Dolgopolov, who did not double-fault a single time. It ended with Goffin coming up with a brilliant backhand pass on championship point at 5-3, 40-30 in the third set.
“This one is really special because you know it’s always tough to come back from injuries,” Goffin commented. “To come back from injury to qualify my country for the Davis Cup final and then to win my third trophy, it means a lot. I cannot be happier today.”
Highlights:
At the Chengdu Open, Sunday’s final ended in unceremonious fashion when Marcos Baghdatis retired with a back issue while trailing 3-2 in the first set.
“I was feeling a bit of pain in my back during the week, but late after my match last night I felt some spasms,” Baghdatis explained. “This morning I woke up a bit the same. After my warmup, it got worse. The ATP physio worked on me for an hour and a half. I was okay for three or four games and the spasms came back. I’ve had back issues before, but not like this.
“It’s a bit disappointing to finish this way, but it’s true that it’s always positive to be in the final of a tournament. I have to thank all the people that made this event possible. They do a great job here. I love this place and I’ll hope to come next year, too.”
Baghdatis’ troubles gave Istomin his second career ATP title, for which he needed to play only 23 minutes in the final.
“I know his situation, because I’ve had a lot of injuries,” Istomin noted. “I know the feeling and we are good friends, so my first thought was to help Marcos when I saw him go down. Of course I want to win the title, but not this way. I hope he gets better and will be okay for the rest of the season. I feel great and especially today I was feeling better than the other matches. I think I’m in the same condition as I was in Australia at the beginning of the season…. I’m feeling fine now and will try to finish the year as best as I can.”
Baghdatis goes down:
much needed for both
Yay Goffin!!! Congratz to both Goffin and Dolgo �👍�
Oh yesss
And Congratz to Istomin!
Get well soon Baghdatis…..