David Goffin (French pronunciation: [david ɡɔfɛ̃]; born 7 December 1990) is a Belgian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 7, making him the highest-ranked Belgian male player in tennis history and also the first and only Belgian man to be ranked in the Top 10.
Goffin has won six ATP titles and reached nine other finals, most notably at the 2017 ATP Finals. Goffin's breakthrough came at the 2012 French Open, where he was a lucky loser making his major debut. He reached the fourth round before losing to Roger Federer in four sets. Goffin has since reached four major quarterfinals, at the 2016 French Open, and the 2017 Australian Open, and the 2019 and 2022 Wimbledon Championships. At the 2017 ATP Finals, Goffin defeated Dominic Thiem, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and world No. 2 Roger Federer en route to the final where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov.
Playing style and endorsements
Goffin plays a baseline-oriented game, and he is considered to be an offensive baseliner, with accurate groundstrokes. He uses his forehand to move opponents around the court, but his two-handed backhand is another strong shot, particularly down-the-line. Both wings are capable of producing winners. He is also one of the best returners in the game, winning 50% of second serve return points in his career. He has a fast serve, capable of reaching 125 mph (201 km/h). He moves around the court quickly, and is also excellent at retrieving tricky balls. He is solid at the net, but this isn't one of his major assets.
Goffin is sponsored by Wilson for his racquets and Asics for his clothing and footwear. He uses the Wilson Blade 98 18x20 Countervail racquet.
As a junior, he compiled a singles win–loss record of 76–40, reaching as high as No. 10 in the junior combined world rankings in July 2008. He took part in only two junior slams, losing in the second round of the French Open and the first round of Wimbledon in 2008.
Throughout the 2009 season, Goffin played Futures and Challenger tournaments. His best result of the year came when he qualified for Todi, Italy. He won four consecutive matches after qualification, eventually succumbing to Simon Greul, ranked No. 84, in a semifinal in straight sets.
In 2010, Goffin played Futures and Challenger tournaments throughout the year with varying results. He finished the year ranked No. 233.
Goffin won his first match on the ATP tour at the 2011 Chennai open, defeating India's No. 1, Somdev Devvarman. He lost in the second round to Stanislas Wawrinka.
2012: Breakthrough at the French Open
In 2012, he reached the quarterfinals of an ATP World Tour tournament for the first time at the 2012 Chennai Open, after defeating top-50 countryman Xavier Malisse and Andreas Beck.
At the French Open 2012, though he did not win in the last qualifying round of the qualifications, he entered the tournament's main draw as a lucky loser thanks to the withdrawal of Gaël Monfils. In his first round, he faced world no. 27 and 23rd seed for men's singles Radek Štěpánek and beat him in five sets. The second round saw Goffin take on French veteran player Arnaud Clément (who was playing his last French Open) whom he beat in five sets in a match postponed due to rain at a score of 5–1 the previous day. Goffin then beat Łukasz Kubot in the third round to become the first lucky loser to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam since compatriot Dick Norman at Wimbledon 1995. Goffin was eventually eliminated by third seed Roger Federer, but not before managing to win the first set.
He received one of the wild cards for Wimbledon, and in the first round he beat 20th seed and 2011 quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic. Then, in the second round, he beat Jesse Levine to advance to the third round, where he ultimately lost to the resurgent 10th seed Mardy Fish.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he lost in the first round of the men's singles to Juan Mónaco.
At the US Open, he entered the main draw, but lost in the first round to world no. 7, sixth seed, and eventually semifinalist at the tournament Tomáš Berdych.
He then won two singles matches to secure Belgium a place in the 2013 Davis Cup World Group.
Goffin started the season by making his debut at the 2013 Brisbane International. He defeated wildcard (and crowd favourite) Matthew Ebden, before losing to seventh seed Jürgen Melzer in the second round.
In the first round of the French Open, he faced then-No. 1, Novak Djokovic. He proved a challenge for Djokovic, but lost the match in straight sets. Goffin's performance as well as Djokovic's laboured efforts in defeating him were the subject of brief attention to the quality of Goffin's playing.