Goffin Upsets Alcaraz In Astana

Lucky loser David Goffin made the most of his second chance at the Astana Open on Tuesday, upsetting World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 7-5, 6-3 to earn the biggest win of his season.

The Belgian squandered two match points in his qualifying match against #NextGenATP Italian Luca Nardi on Sunday, but earned a place in the draw as a lucky loser. With the pressure off, the former World No. 7 Goffin rolled back the years as he outplayed Alcaraz to reach the second round after one hour and 46 minutes.

“I always believe that I have the level to cause some trouble against those guys,” Goffin said. “Of course it has not been my best period, I haven’t been playing really well in the past few tournaments, but I always believe and practice and you never know.

“When you play against the World No. 1 on a big stage, big crowd, the fire inside gives you so much power to play your best tennis because you don’t have any choice. You have to fight and give your best and that was the case today. I always believed I had it and I am happy you can still it there.”

Goffin now holds a 3-8 record against players sat at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, having defeated then-World No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2017 and the ATP Cup in 2020.

The 31-year-old, who captured the crown in Marrakech earlier this season, will next meet Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

Alcaraz has enjoyed a historic season, capturing ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Miami and Madrid before he lifted his first Grand Slam trophy at the US Open in a victory that propelled him to No. 1. He is the youngest player to rise to the top in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (since 1973).

However, he was unable to find his best level against Goffin as he struggled to time the ball, with the Belgian breaking five times to improve to 1-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.