M1000 Shanghai – David Goffin, birth and rebirth

It’s a name and a face that we had lost the habit of seeing in these parts. David Goffin is in the quarter-finals in Shanghai and this presence so far down the table had become a rarity for him in a tournament. So, in a Masters 1000, let’s not talk about it. But the Belgian is there and there and he did not steal his place after having signed a victory in the second round against Lorenzo Musetti, 18th in the world (1-6, 7-6, 6-2) then, in the round of 16 , a success in two sets against Alexander Zverev, world number 3 (6-4, 7-5). His first Top 10 pinned in two and a half years.

In total, four victories in a row (adding those against James Duckworth and Marcos Giron) and that too is a series to which the former world number 7 was no longer at all accustomed. A form of rebirth, which is accompanied by a birth, that of her first child, little Emma, ​​who arrived three weeks ago. A source of motivation and a fountain of youth for the 33-year-old from Liège. “I wanted to show my daughter that I could be a good player, so I’m going to try to find a few more years to show her that I can still play tennis“, he confided on Wednesday.

The adventure will have to be extended for a little while so that his offspring can be old enough to really see their father evolve, but perhaps David Goffin is reinventing a future for himself, which was not a given given the of recent seasons. His body, more than his tennis, had abandoned him. Since this nasty injury to his left knee which forced him to put his career on hold for many months in 2021. Since then, he had remained only a shadow of himself on the court.

“I feel really good at the moment, he explained after his victory against Giron in Shanghai. Physically, I can play 100 percent. I no longer have pain. And mentally, I am present again too. Everything is getting better and better as the weeks go by. I’ve had some good wins over the last few months. I’m very happy with the way I’m playing and getting back into the top parts of the big tournament draws. I hope it continues.” Beyond his daughter, it is to the entire circuit that he shows that, as long as he can express himself physically, he still has enough to hold a consistent dialogue. With things to say racket in hand.

There had been some signs of improvement for David Goffin in recent months, such as this challenger title on the English turf in Ilkley, his semi-final in Winston Salem or even this round of 16 at the US Open with a victory against Alejandro Tabilo. This is a further milestone, even if it will take time to know if the improvement will only be temporary or if it can be more lasting, as he will celebrate his 34th birthday next December.

Whatever happens, Goffin will fall back to at least the edge of the top 50 next Monday. His best ranking in a year and a half when he was above 130th place last February. Enough to ensure a certain comfort in the medium term and an easier return to a large number of paintings. “It happens that you have doubts, both about the physical condition and the mental aspect. I worked a lot, because I wanted to make the effort to get back to my best level“, he said.

For him, it was never a problem of level. That’s why he held on. To see what he would still be capable of if physically he managed to remain calm. David Goffin has a “model” in this area. A certain Grigor Dimitrov, back in the Top 10 well beyond his thirties when no one saw him re-establishing himself that high. Curiously, it was with his semi-final in Shanghai a year ago (beating Alcaraz on the way) that the Bulgarian restarted the machine.

“Grigor is having an extraordinary year, underlines the Belgian. And it all started here, followed by his final at Paris-Bercy. And here he is in the Top 10 again. We played in the Masters final in 2017 and to see him back in the Top 10 is pretty incredible. We are the same age and so I said to myself, ‘why not me?’ Why couldn’t I get back to the top of the rankings? It’s quite inspiring to see what he has achieved. I don’t know if I will manage to get back into the Top 10, but I am in a good dynamic, with good tennis.” A return of flame and a renewal of ambition. Papa Goffin would definitely enjoy a second youth.