I don’t always get it right.
Take Ernests Gulbis, for example. From the front row of the Grandstand in the third round of the 2007 U.S. Open, I witnessed a teenaged Gulbis dismantle then-world No. 8 Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 29 minutes. Naturally, I promptly proclaimed Gulbis to be a future world No. 1. Oh, what the heck–I proclaimed him to be the second coming of Christ. And trust me, if you were also a witness, you know I had good reason to do so.
Fast forward seven years–just a few years, though, were evidence enough–and it’s safe to say I got that one wrong. Sure, Gulbis is playing well again and hovering around the top 10. But he will never live up to the hype; at least not to mine.
In the case of David Goffin, however, I remain confident I will be correct.
Granted, Goffin’s breakout did not come on any kind of grand stage like Labor Day weekend at the U.S. Open. Nor did I tout him as future GOAT contender. Goffin does not have to do as much as Gulbis to reach expectations–mine or anyone else’s. Being a consistent top 20 player will do just fine. And he shouldn’t have to do as much as, say, Gulbis, Tomas Berdych, or Juan Martin Del Potro–big guys who hit massively and also move well, molded as if they were born to dominate on a tennis court. Goffin registers at the other end of the spectrum; possibly even a poor man’s David Ferrer in terms of physicality.
He is listed at 5’11” and 150 pounds. Move along; nothing to see here.
Not so fast. My “discovery” of Goffin came at the 2011 Aircel Chennai Open, where the then-20-year-old qualified for the main draw and beat Indian favorite Somdev Devvarman 6-2, 6-4. That set the stage for a meeting with No. 3 seed Stanislas Wawrinka. In an outrageously entertaining clash that lasted one hour and 56 minutes despite requiring only two sets, Goffin succumbed 7-6(3), 7-6(3).
Wawrinka, not surprisingly, went on to win the title. Goffin, meanwhile, went on to be touted as future top 20 player–at least by me.
He is not there yet, but to say Goffin is well on his way would be an understatement. Strictly from a statistics perspective, the 23-year-old is the hottest player on the ATP Tour. Count ’em up: he is on a 25-match winning streak; one-fourth of the way to 100 for those counting. No matter that exactly 75 percent of his current streak has come at the Challenger level; 25 wins are 25 wins. Do you (DO YOU?) see anyone else going 15-0 in the span of three weeks on the Challenger tour? After capturing three straight Challenger titles, Goffin–who made a coaching change just prior to the French Open–lifted his first ATP winner’s trophy in Kitzbuhel.
“You work so much in the fitness room and on the court for a moment like today,” he said after beating Austria’s own Dominic Thiem in the final. “You play so many practices and so many matches to have this emotion, so when you win the match point you can’t control it.”
Now making his summer hard-court debut in Winston-Salem, Goffin made a mockery of two qualifying matches before beating defending champion Jurgen Melzer, Hamburg champ and No. 4 seed Leonardo Mayer, and No. 15 seed Jarkko Nieminen. Heading into a quarterfinal collision with Jerzy Janowicz on Thursday, the Belgian is not only 25-0 in his last 25 matches but also 50-3 in his last 53 sets.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said following his third-round defeat of Nieminen. “At the beginning of the summer I didn’t expect [these] results. But I won three Challengers and then an ATP 250 and now I’m still continuing to win. So I’m pretty happy (with) the way I’m playing for the moment. I have a lot of confidence right now.”
And I’m feeling confident about Goffin; not only to reach the Winston-Salem final, but more importantly to also become a force to be reckoned with in the second week of slams. For now, though, the focus is on one match at a time. The name is Janowicz…Jerzy Janowicz. And let’s be honest, the mercurial Pole should be nothing more than scalp No. 26 on Goffin’s wall.
“The word ‘losing’ is not in his vocabulary,” Melzer said of Goffin after becoming the 24th victim.
And that’s almost certainly how it would remain had I opted not to write this piece. But I did, so the jinx is on. You’re welcome, Jerzy.
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I remember vividly when you went overboard about Gulbis! Never did get what all the fuss and excitement was about 🙁 Goffin is a different kettle of fish. He showed form early on but what distinguishes him from a number of promising younger players is the steady upward trajectory that is gaining momentum with each win.
how not?
Just checked the results. Ha, Ha. So Jerzy halted David in his tracks. Pissed off I can’t get any TV coverage – would have given a lot to have seen that encounter.