David Goffin has played the last match of his career. The Belgian lost 6-3 6-4 to fifth seed Alex Michelsen in the second round of the European Open in Brussels on Thursday, 22 October, and was then honoured on court in front of his home crowd.
An emotional goodbye
Goffin had extended his farewell by a day, coming back from a break down in the deciding set to beat Remy Bertola 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the first round. Against Michelsen there was no way back, and after the match the crowd watched a video tribute with messages from former rivals and friends, EssentiallySports reported. Rafael Nadal congratulated him on "your amazing career", and Grigor Dimitrov thanked him for "sharing the court with me for so many years". Richard Gasquet, Davis Cup teammate Steve Darcis and the young Belgians Alexander Blockx and Zizou Bergs also took part.
"I'm relieved, at peace with myself and very happy with what I experienced this week in Brussels," Goffin told RTBF, according to Tennis Majors. He also said he "gave everything until the very end", Ubitennis reported.
Belgium's most successful man
Goffin turned professional in 2009 and won six ATP titles from 15 finals, the most by a Belgian man in the Open Era. He climbed to a career-high No 7 in 2017, recorded 358 tour-level wins and reached four Grand Slam quarter-finals, according to Tennis Majors.
His best season was 2017. At the ATP Finals in London he beat both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to reach the final, where he lost to Dimitrov. The same year he led Belgium to the Davis Cup final, as he had already done in 2015. He beat Nadal twice in their seven meetings, EssentiallySports noted.
A generation passes the baton
Goffin's retirement comes as a new group of Belgian players takes over, led by Zizou Bergs, who reached the Brussels quarter-finals on the same day by beating Damir Dzumhur 6-2 6-4, and Raphael Collignon, beaten 6-4 6-2 by Jiri Lehecka. Bergs said in the tribute that Goffin had influenced his own backhand.
What's next in Brussels
Michelsen moves on to the quarter-finals, where Bergs and Lehecka are also through. See the ATP rankings for the current standings and our Race to Turin guide for the last places at the season finale.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- Tennis Majors — Goffin's career ends in tears in Brussels as Bergs and Lehecka reach the quarterfinals
- Ubitennis — David Goffin has 'no regrets' after tennis retirement in Brussels
- EssentiallySports — David Goffin breaks down in tears as Rafael Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov and others deliver emotional retirement tribute
- Tennis Majors — Goffin recovers from a break down in the decider to extend his farewell in Brussels