Goffin Survives In Five, Sets Gulbis 4R Clash

David Goffin improved to 3-0 in five-setters at Roland Garros, scoring his first victory over Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on Saturday.

The Belgian, who won a pair of five-set battles en route to his lone previous Round of 16 appearance on the Parisian clay, in 2012, fired 36 winners, including 10 aces, to advance after nearly three hours. Now seeded 12th at the clay-court Grand Slam, Goffin was a lucky loser when he reached the fourth round four years ago (l. to Federer).

After falling behind two-sets-to-one, Almagro looked to swing the momentum in his favour deep in the fourth. He abruptly took a 0/40 lead at 5-4 and forced a decider a point later. But an in-form Goffin would not be denied in the fifth, breaking for 2-1 with a rifled cross-court forehand, which drew an error from his Spanish opponent. He would break once again in the seventh game before securing the victory on his first match point.

Goffin is set to square off against Ernests Gulbis for a spot in the quarter-finals. It will be their third FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter, having split the first two meetings.

Gulbis advanced to the Round of 16 in Paris for the second time in three years when No. 1 Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired with a left adductor injury. The 27-year-old Latvian is enjoying a resurgence on the terre battue this week, winning three matches at a tournament for the first time since Vienna last year. His best Grand Slam result game here at Roland Garros in 2014, reaching the semi-finals (l. to Djokovic).

“It is very strange,” said Gulbis. “I feel very sorry for Jo. Here unfortunately we played just seven games. It’s never nice to win like this, so I feel very sorry for him. There’s not much I can say about the match itself. It was just the beginning. I was just starting to get to feel the atmosphere of the centre court. I haven’t been here for a couple of years.

“But overall, if we take that apart away, then I’m satisfied the way I played and the way I hit the ball in practice and in the first two rounds. The second round was especially good from my game and from my perspective.”

An emotional Tsonga, who left the court in tears, led 5-2 in the first set when he was forced to withdraw after stretching to hit a forehand. It marked just the second time since 2009 that he failed to reach the second week at his home Grand Slam. Ninth seed Richard Gasquet is now the lone remaining player from France in the singles draw.

“The problem is my adductor, the same thing I had before the tournament,” Tsonga lamented. “I just came on court pretty good and feeling really good. The first game of the match I slid and I felt a pain.

“It’s of course a big disappointment. I felt really well on the court. I was in a really good shape today. It’s just really difficult to accept that I’m not in the tournament anymore.”