Goffin Finds Footing In Davis Cup Final

David Goffin completed his first comeback from two sets down in Davis Cup in the opening rubber of the Belgium-Great Britain final tie on Friday. The 24-year-old Belgian faced stiff resistance from 20-year-old Kyle Edmund before prevailing 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 on an indoor clay court in the Belgian city of Ghent.

Edmund, making his Davis Cup debut, took early control of the match. The No. 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings put his serve-forehand combination to good use and powered his way to a two-set lead after 70 minutes of play.

Goffin, ranked No. 16, then found his rhythm, taking advantage of the home support to sweep the next three sets in 90 minutes. He broke the Brit nine times in the last three sets (10/19 total). Meanwhile, Edmund broke serve six times in the first three sets, but did not get a break opportunity in the final two sets as Goffin cruised to the finish line.

“He played every forehand really heavy from the beginning,” Goffin said during the post-match on-court interview. “It was tough for me to find my timing on the baseline. I knew I needed to take my chance, and I did well to finish the match quickly in the fourth and fifth sets.

“I wanted to start the match by hitting some balls from the baseline to gain confidence,” Goffin added. “It didn’t work because of how aggressively [Edmund] started. That’s why he won the first two sets, but I’m really happy with the way I turned it around. The atmosphere here is just amazing. I have never played in front of a crowd like this.”

In the second rubber, Belgium’s Reuben Bemelmans will take on World No. 2 Andy Murray.