Former world No. 7 David Goffin is feeling healthy again and hoping to return to where he was before he was struck by injuries.
The 2021 season was one of the most challenging of Goffin’s career as a knee injury forced him to miss significant time.
Also, Goffin lost six consecutive matches before he put an end to his season after the US Open.
Last week in Marrakech, Goffin clinched his first title of the season.
Following his Marrakech victory, Goffin improved 27 positions on the ATP rankings and is now ranked at No. 47.
This week, Goffin reached the Monte Carlo round-of-16 before losing to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
“Since the beginning of this year, I really wanted to do well,” Goffin told reporters on Wednesday. “My knees were a lot better, so little by little I was able to find my rhythm and confidence also. Little by little, I found the right mindset.”
Goffin: Playing the Pheonix Challenger proved to be a good decision
Goffin hit a rough stretch of a couple of early exits on the ATP level events.
After picking up his fourth consecutive first round loss in Indian Wells – Goffin went to the Phoenix Challenger – where he reached the quarterfinal before losing to Liam Broady.
“It started being a lot better in the challenger of Phoenix,” he said. “I got better and better, and now that we are on clay, it boosted my confidence. The fact of having two or three difficult victories against [Pablo] Andujar, [Roberto Carballes] Baena, [Federico] Coria, all these clay courters in Marrakech made me very confident.
“Now I feel good. My timing is a lot better. The general approach during the past weeks was a lot better too. So I was convinced it would go well.”
Goffin is happy that his hard work is paying off and he has vowed to keep working hard.
“The level is so high right now that you cannot stop working,” he said. “You have to work a lot all the time. The hard work I did lately allowed me to be where I am today, and I’m quite proud.”