David Goffin opens on doubts he had following challenging 2021 season

Former world No. 7 David Goffin admitted he had doubts after a challenging 2021 season.

Last season was one of the most challenging of Goffin’s career as he was hampered by a knee injury and losing a lot.

Goffin actually made a good start to the 2021 season as he won Montpellier and reached the semifinal in Antalya.

Goffin won eight matches in the first two months of the 2021 season and then just six in the rest of the year.

Goffin’s last win of the 2021 season came in Rome, where he defeated Salvatore Caruso in the first round.

Goffin played six more matches in the rest of the season and lost them all, before calling it a season after the US Open.

This past January in Sydney, Goffin reached the quarterfinal before he was forced to retire to Andy Murray due to a knee injury.

After a retirement in Sydney and losing four consecutive matches in February, Goffin found his form at the start of the clay season when he won Marrakech.

Goffin: Happy I rediscovered my game

“Winning Marrakech meant a lot. I have had tough moments for the past year. First with my knee. I had to end my season in August and then the beginning of this year I was struggling with my game. My knee troubled me in Sydney, I had to pull out of my match against [Andy] Murray. There were a lot of things in my head. ‘Would my knee ever be the same? Is it affecting my footwork? Am I slower?’ I wondered if I would ever be the same again.

“After Sydney I began to feel more confident in practice and at the gym sessions and I was like ‘OK, I am feeling great’. Then I started to play some good tennis and the confidence came back, match after match.”

In Madrid, Goffin won a total of four matches before losing to Rafael Nadal in the round-of-16.

Goffin won two qualifying and two main draw matches before he lost to Nadal.