Resilient Goffin Hoping To Stun Rafa Once More
Resilient Goffin Hoping To Stun Rafa Once More
All of the numbers, including their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (2-1 Nadal), suggest Rafael Nadal will advance to his 11thBarcelona Open Banc Sabadell final on Saturday, when he faces fourth seed David Goffin in the semi-finals.
Nadal has won 17 consecutive matches and 42 consecutive sets on clay, dating back to his 2017 Rome quarter-final loss to Dominic Thiem. The Spaniard also didn’t drop a set against Goffin during their two clay-court FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups (2017 Monte-Carlo, 2017 Madrid). And Nadal has won 10 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell titles.
But don’t be surprised if Goffin challenges and breaks at least one of Nadal’s streaks during their fourth FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup.
Goffin beat Nadal the last time they played, during a tight opener at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4. So the Belgian should carry plenty of confidence onto Pista Rafa Nadal.
Watch Highlights: Goffin Earns First Win At The O2
Goffin also doesn’t play your typical clay-court game. Instead of standing feet behind the baseline and going for long rallies, the Belgian tries to hug the baseline and take the ball early, which could apply some unique pressure to Nadal, who reached the semi-final with a 6-0, 7-5 win against Slovakia’s Martin Klizan.
Goffin’s road to his first Barcelona semi-final has been much more complicated. The No. 10 player in the ATP Rankings has lost the opening set in all three of his matches, but he’s ran away in each of the three deciders as well.
Watch: Goffin’s My Story
The scores of his deciding sets so far in Barcelona have been 6-2 vs. Marcel Granollers, 6-0 vs. Karen Khachanov and 6-2 vs. Roberto Bautista Agut. In other words, the Belgian is again showing the resiliency that helped him make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals last year.
In 2017, Goffin led the Tour by winning 14 times after dropping the first set. His deciding-set record of 22-6 was also an ATP World Tour best. So far this season, according to his FedEx ATP Win/Loss Record, Goffin is 4-4 when losing the first set and 3-1 in deciding sets.
Read More: The Most Telling Stats of 2017