Rolex Shanghai Masters
David Goffin (66)
James Duckworth (75)
David Goffin has qualified relatively easily for the second round of the ATP tournament in Shanghai. Our compatriot defeated the Australian James Duckworth in 2 sets on Thursday.
David Goffin and James Duckworth have faced each other once before on the ATP circuit. In their first confrontation, 3 years ago in Miami, the Australian convincingly won.
But this time it was for Goffin, who finished with Duckworth in less than 1.5 hours.
In set 1, one break was enough for the Belgian to take the lead. And Goffin hardly got into trouble in the 2nd set either. With two breaks in a row, he quickly took a 4-1 lead.
For a moment our compatriot seemed to be faltering, when Duckworth in turn went through Goffin’s serve. But the Australian then had to give up his own serve again, after which Goffin was allowed to finish. He still needed 3 match points for that.
In the 2nd round, Goffin will face the Italian Lorenzo Musetti, number 18 in the world. Musetti is the 15th seed in Shanghai and was free in the 1st round.
I hope she will be able to see that I am still a good tennis player.
David Goffin
“It was a nice win, not easy,” Goffin said. “There was a lot of wind and you had to find the lines. It was not easy to play my best tennis today. But I delivered a solid match.”
“I built up a lot of certainty and he made more mistakes than usual. It is also my first victory as a father. That is nice. If you leave the house and you win, then you did not leave for nothing.”
“The fact that I am here is proof that my ranking and my tennis are improving. I am more consistent and confident. And the birth of my daughter Emma is an additional motivation.”
“I hope she will be able to see that I am still a good tennis player. Regardless, I still want to make progress. It would be incredible to end the year in the top 50.”
