Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on 24 March. David Goffin, a finalist at the Western & Southern Open, is the first Belgian to reach a championship match at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

The past 13 months have not been easy for David Goffin. After reaching the championship match at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals, he missed four weeks early in 2018 due to a freak accident in the Rotterdam semi-finals that resulted in an eye injury. After making the semi-finals at Cincinnati in August, any momentum he gained came to a halt when he missed the final five weeks of the season due to an elbow injury.

But the Belgian takes solace in knowing that all it takes is one moment to turn it all around.

“It’s just been a tough period and I just need some confidence. I have it in practice, so that’s why I’m really positive,” Goffin told ATPTour.com. “Sometimes it could be a good match, a good battle, a good win or a good result in a tournament just to give me some confidence and just to see that I can do it and I’m still there and I have the level. It’s much better already this week.”

From 2014-17, Goffin built up confidence as he steadily improved his game. Each year, he broke a new milestone in the year-end ATP Rankings; first it was the Top 25, then the Top 20, the Top 15, and finally the Top 10 after his performance at the season finale in London two seasons ago.

“All of a sudden you start to have a lot of injuries, an accident, a fracture to my elbow and then changing my coach. It was like you have to rebuild a new base for the future and make a completely refined project because there’s something different, you want to change,” Goffin said. “I’m 28 now, so maybe it’s time to do something else for the next four or five years to still improve and I think it could be the best years in front of me in my career. It’s different, but it could take some time and I know that, so I’m patient and I hope it’s going to pay off.”

Goffin has recently reunited with 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, who is his lone coach. The Swede spent time with Goffin in 2016, so there is plenty of familiarity between the two. They officially began their partnership after Marseille in February.

“I’m really happy to be back and now it’s the third week we’re working together on the [ATP] Tour,” Johansson said. “The good thing about that is we don’t need the ‘get to know each other’ time, because we know each other really well and we had a lot of contact even when we weren’t working together.”

Johansson acknowledges that Goffin, currently World No. 20, will have to dig deep to return to the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, having peaked at No. 7 in 2017. According to him, it may be even tougher now.

“I think it’s more challenging, because the depth in tennis now is amazing. Now is the first time ever that the youngsters are coming up and they’re actually challenging the big guns,” Johansson said. “So for me it’s extremely tough for a player like David to come back to the Top 10. But that’s our big goal, to try to achieve that.”

Listen To ATP Radio’s Interview With Johansson:

Goffin and Johansson are not making any major changes, as the Belgian’s game isn’t far off. He simply is fine-tuning various aspects of his game and hoping that piecing all of that together can make for a big pay-off.

“Just small details that I can do to be a little more aggressive, how I can be at the net, improve the serve and maybe the zone, the target where I hit the serve to be ready for the next shot on my groundstrokes,” Goffin said. “So it can be small details, but it could make a difference to be more aggressive.”

Goffin, who was 4-6 at tour-level entering this ATP Masters 1000 event, is into the third round of the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he will face 14th seed Marco Cecchinato. But he’s not dreaming of any specific goals. He’s simply working hard daily to try to regain his form.

“For the moment it’s just to come back at my best level and to be competitive match after match. I think it’s not perfect yet, but I’m improving. The good thing is I’m playing really well during practice,” Goffin said. “It could be one match, it could be a set. Sometimes you like to open the bottle and then you can be fine, so I’m still working hard. We are working together during practice and I know it’s going to come. Sometimes I play well, but I have to play well during the whole match. It’s better and better day after day.”

After speaking to ATPTour.com shortly after his second-round victory against Pablo Andujar, Goffin, racquets in hand, headed back towards the practice courts with Johansson.

“I’m just trying now to enjoy it. I enjoy every moment during practice. I just want to feel the same during every match to come back to play very relaxed, to hit every shot — and not tight — and to be creative; to create every point, to be aggressive, just play, because that’s what I love. I’m sure if I’m with this attitude, a good attitude, I think I can come back at my best and the results will come.”

Rolling the dice with a barrage of big second serves, Daniil Medvedev battled back from the brink of defeat to stun top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic at the Western & Southern Open on Saturday. The Russian reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final in as many weeks in Cincinnati.

Medvedev mounted a furious comeback to advance, having trailed Djokovic by 6-3, 3-2 30/40. He would deny the critical break point and flipped the script in a flash, prevailing 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 43 minutes. It marked the first time Djokovic had lost a semi-final at the ATP Masters 1000 level when winning the first set since 2013 (to Del Potro in Indian Wells).

The World No. 8 reversed course in stunning fashion in the second and third sets, varying his pace and angles on serve and refusing to allow Djokovic to establish any rhythm. He left the Serbian in search of answers, often effectively rushing his serve with great success. His 16 aces are the most that Djokovic has allowed in a three-set match this year.

“To be honest, I don’t know how I did it,” Medvedev told Brad Gilbert of ESPN. “I was so tired in the first set and playing Novak I thought I wasn’t able to keep the intensity. Then, the one momentum change in the second set was the difference. The crowd gave me so much energy.

“Usually I’ll go bigger on my second serve when it’s not working and Novak was just destroying me in the first set. At one moment, I said to myself why do a normal second serve if I’m going to lose the point. I started to win much more after that.”

A ? TO CLOSE!

✅ Washington final
✅ Montreal final
✅ Cincinnati final
❓ #CincyTennis ?

? @DaniilMedwed

?: @TennisTV | @CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/h4pz2TDHQC

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) August 18, 2019

Medvedev advanced to his third straight tour-level final following championship appearances at the Citi Open in Washington (l. to Kyrgios) and the Rogers Cup in Montreal (l. to Nadal). He will face David Goffin on Sunday in what will be their third FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. All encounters have come in 2019, with Medvedev winning at the Australian Open and Goffin exacting revenge in a five-set thriller at Wimbledon.

“I need to win (smiling),” said Medvedev. “No, actually, my mentality is always I take every match the same, from the first round, because I always say if you lose in the first round you won’t be in the final, so why to take it different?

“Talking about the final against Rafa, it was a tough one. I would say actually I don’t have any regrets. I mean, if it would be 7-6 in the third, then I would be sitting here, saying I had my chances. I had zero chances.

“Against Nick, I had my chances. I didn’t use them. I’m going to go out there tomorrow and be ready to fight, be consistent, and hopefully I can be the winner.”

The Russian is in strong position to punch his ticket to the Nitto ATP Finals in London, adding a tour-leading 43rd match win this year. He also owns 30 victories on hard courts – 10 more than second-placed Roberto Bautista Agut and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Djokovic was at his ruthless best in the first set, committing just three unforced errors and converting eight of nine points at the net. He seized the lone break point of the opener, using his forehand to open the court and put Medvedev on defense.

Playing his 17th match in 19 days, Medvedev would receive a visit from the physio (right arm) midway through the second set. Despite appearing in considerable pain, it would prove to exactly what he needed to flip the script. He reeled off 12 of the next 14 points to break Djokovic out of nowhere and force a decider. He struck 14 winners and hit just four unforced errors in the set.

It was in that moment that Medvedev decided to change his tactic on his second serve. It proved to be a critical decision. Going bigger with his delivery and varying his pace of play, the 23-year-old stormed back. His average second serve speed increased by 11 mph in the second and third sets.

After appearing as if Djokovic would run away with the match, they were suddenly headed to a decider in front of a packed crowd at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The Serbian saw his streak of 37 consecutive service games won, since being broken to open the tournament, come to a close.

Medvedev kept his foot on the pedal as the third set got underway. He earned a quick break for 2-1 and did not look back. The Russian cruised to the finish line, capped with a perfect passing shot on his first match point.

It was his second win over Djokovic this year, following a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Serbian still leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head by a count of 3-2.

Djokovic was denied a 50th ATP Masters 1000 final appearance. He was bidding to join Rafael Nadal (51) and Roger Federer (50) in the exclusive club. One year ago, the Serbian completed the full set of Masters 1000 titles with his first Cincinnati crown.

Did You Know?
Medvedev is the first Russian to reach the final in the 120 years of the Western & Southern Open.

For seven years, David Goffin has battled at the ATP Masters 1000 level, seeking a breakthrough on one of the game’s biggest stages. On Saturday, that moment arrived.

Goffin reached his first Masters 1000 final, producing a clinical display to defeat Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4 at the Western & Southern Open. The Belgian is playing some of the best tennis of his career in Cincinnati, outdueling his opponents from the baseline and dropping just one set en route to the championship. There, he will face either Novak Djokovic or Daniil Medvedev on Sunday.

Under the tutelage of Thomas Johansson, Goffin has been building towards this moment following a final appearance on the grass of Halle and first Wimbledon quarter-final. But despite having dropped a pair of hard-court openers in Washington and Montreal, the World No. 19 is seizing the initiative in Cincinnati.

It will be a 13th ATP Tour final in total for Goffin and second of the year, having finished runner-up to Federer in Halle two months ago.

A battle of two former World No. 7s, Goffin sprinted out of the gates on an overcast Saturday afternoon, producing two straight holds to love and pouncing on Gasquet’s second service game. A quick break saw the Belgian surge to a 4-1 lead with a backhand winner down the line.

The 28-year-old was firing away on the front foot throughout the encounter, maintaining an aggressive gameplan to rattle his French opponent. He converted seven winners to zero unforced errors in the first four games and continued to vary pace and spins from the baseline.

Goffin’s movement opened the angles on his forehand side, which saw nine winners in the opening set and five-of-five net points won. As the second set got underway, a momentary dip in focus saw the Belgian concede the early lead for 2-0, but he would reel off five of the next six games with aplomb. Goffin would cross the finish line after one hour and 16 minutes as a Gasquet backhand sailed long.

A semi-finalist in Cincinnati a year ago, Goffin retired due to an arm injury against Roger Federer. Now, he has gone one step further at the hard-court event. He is into his first final on the surface since 2017, when he finished runner-up to Grigor Dimitrov at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Goffin edges ahead 2-1 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Gasquet. They previously met in Tokyo in 2017, won by the Belgian, and last year on the indoor hard courts of Montpellier.

Meanwhile, Gasquet was bidding to make his first Masters 1000 final since Toronto in 2012. He did well to reach the last four in Cincinnati, in his return from groin surgery. Playing with a protected ranking, he had missed the first four months of the season and had fallen outside the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since 2010. But the Frenchman is on the rise once again and is projected to rise to No. 34 on Monday.

Did You Know?
Goffin entered the week with an 0-4 record in ATP Masters 1000 finals. He previously fell to Milos Raonic in Indian Wells in 2016, to Djokovic in Miami in 2016, to Rafael Nadal in Monte-Carlo in 2017 and to Federer in Cincinnati last year.

Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic has 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles to his name. Eighth seed Daniil Medvedev, No. 16 seed David Goffin and Richard Gasquet all seek their first. They’ll all have the chance to move closer to hardware on Saturday at the Western & Southern Open, with Djokovic renewing his rivalry with Medvedev and Goffin squaring off against Gasquet. 

Djokovic picked up right where he left off in his first tournament since capturing a fifth Wimbledon title last month (d. Federer). The World No. 1 powered into the semi-finals without dropping a set and has continued to improve his form each time he stepped onto Stadium Court in Cincinnati.

But the Serbian faces his biggest test of the tournament against a red-hot Medvedev, who has gone 12-2 in his past three events. The Russian finished runner-up at the Citi Open (l. to Kyrgios) and scored his first ATP Masters 1000 final in last week’s Coupe Rogers (l. to Nadal). But if Medvedev is tired from the backlog of matches, he isn’t showing it. He also hasn’t dropped a set this week and lost a combined eight games in his past two matches.

“He’s in form. He has a lot of confidence, not missing the ball from the back of the court. He doesn’t seem tired from that amount of matches. On the contrary, it’s serving him well,” said Djokovic. “When you’re winning so many matches in a row, your confidence is high and you’re going for your shots. It’s going to be a tough one and I think it’s also going to be physical. I’m hoping for the best.”

Who will win the latest @FedEx ATP Head2Head clash between these players?#CincyTennis

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) August 17, 2019

Djokovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-1, but Medvedev won their most recent encounter this April at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Big matches against top players are no longer intimidating to the 23-year-old, who has proven this season that he belongs with the world’s best.

“I think it’s [the] experience of playing these big matches, big tournaments, The first year I was on the ATP Tour, I couldn’t win one match in a Masters [1000] event,” said Medvedev. “I was gaining this experience of playing these huge tournaments, obligatory tournaments where if you lose, you lose a lot of [ATP Rankings] points. And I think I’m ready.”

Goffin and Gasquet take to Stadium Court court first on Saturday as they face off for a chance at one of the biggest moments of their careers. Goffin is 0-4 in his previous Masters 1000 semi-finals, while Gasquet hasn’t reached a championship match at this level since 2012 Toronto. They’re tied 1-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, with both meetings coming on hard courts.

Gasquet is back in full flight after undergoing groin surgery in January. The Frenchman returned to action in May and gradually rounded into form, scoring the first Top 10 win of his comeback against Kei Nishikori last week in Montreal, Building on that momentum, Gasquet started his week by beating Andy Murray in the Brit’s return to singles, then scored more Stadium Court wins over Diego Schwartzman and Roberto Bautista Agut to secure his eighth Masters 1000 semi-final.

“You never know what can happen when you have surgery. You never know if you’re going to play again. Sometimes it was tough to even walk after a hit,” said Gasquet. “Day after day, I felt better. I felt I could play on this level and it made the difference.”

See where to watch the Western & Southern Open

Goffin has found a new gear over the past two months, going 11-3 in his past four events that also include a runner-up finish in Halle (l. to Federer) and maiden Wimbledon quarter-final. The Belgian is through to the last four in Cincinnati without dropping a set, marking the first time he has reached the semi-finals twice at a Masters 1000 event.

Unlike his previous matches at this juncture of a Masters 1000, which have seen him face the likes of Djokovc, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Goffin will arrive on Stadium Court as the higher-ranked player. But the Belgian is far too experienced to take Gasquet lightly and knows he will need to bring his best tennis.

It’s a bigger opportunity on paper when you see the [opponents] I’ve had in the past, but it’s also tough mentally when you see there is an opportunity. It’s also an opportunity for him,” said Goffin. “I’ll try to play my best tennis and try to be aggressive. The key will be to go for it and have no regrets.”

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic reached the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open Thursday by defeating Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets. But the Serbian was not the biggest winner on the court. That honour went to the boy who escorted him to his bench before his victory.

Djokovic held a boy named Joel’s hand walking onto to the court. And before the usual pre-match meeting with the chair umpire, the top seed invited Joel to sit on his bench, and even opened up a water bottle for him. According to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s social media pages, Joel is a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma before he was born.

“I met him just before we walked onto the court. He was actually holding my hand, I was walking with him on the court and I actually heard after the first set the speaker said he survived a neuroblastoma cancer when he was a 10-day-old baby and he was wearing a shirt [that said], ‘I Am A Champion’,” Djokovic said on Friday after advancing to the semi-finals. “Those kinds of moments stay with him for a long time and I wanted to make him feel comfortable. I know what it means to him to be on the court and for me it was just a little bit of attention and a gesture to make him feel good.”

This kid is an absolute champion ?@DjokerNole #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/RKjt4vxBZ8

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 16, 2019

The 33-time ATP Masters 1000 champion has long supported children through charity, as his Novak Djokovic Foundation focusses on efforts to improve early childhood education. The foundation aids children by giving them a chance to enjoy a quality preschool education, helping build a foundation for future success.

More On Djokovic’s Charity Work
Novak Helps Raise More Than $100,000 In ‘Season Of Giving’ Campaign
Djokovic: ‘Children Are Our Everything’
Novak Partners With Harvard To Defeat ‘Toxic Effects Of Child Poverty’

No matter whether Djokovic goes on to claim his second Cincinnati crown or not, he will leave Ohio with at least one new lifetime fan. Joel received an experience he will never forget, and Djokovic summarised his feelings about the moment perfectly on his own social media accounts.

“He survived and now he rightfully wears the t-shirt that says CHAMPION.”

In the Australian Open semi-finals, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic lost just four games across three sets against Frenchman Lucas Pouille in just 83 minutes. It was clear from just minutes into their Western & Southern Open quarter-final Friday evening that this would be a much closer match. But still, the result remained the same.

Defending champion Djokovic defeated Pouille 7-6(2), 6-1 in one hour and 26 minutes to reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati. The Serbian has made at least the last four in five consecutive tournaments he has played, and the top seed is into the semi-finals at this ATP Masters 1000 event for the seventh time.

“I thought he played really well throughout the first set. We both held our service games quite comfortably until the tie-break and then I just stayed in there, very focussed, didn’t drop my level. He did,” Djokovic said. “[He] double faulted and missed a couple of forehands and obviously that cost him the tie-break.”

Djokovic is now 63-14 in quarter-finals at this level, and he is two victories away from lifting his 34th Masters 1000 trophy, which would move him to within one crown of Rafael Nadal’s record 35. A year ago, Djokovic completed his Career Golden Masters in Cincinnati.

Pouille was sharp from the baseline from the early moments of this match, showing no fear of going after his shots, even with Djokovic’s relentless defence. But even though he saved the only break point he faced to get to a tie-break in the first set, Pouille was unable to sustain all parts of his game

The Frenchman played a loose tie-break, making mistakes he had not throughout the majority of the set. Pouille was then broken in his first service game of the second set. And although he earned three break points to get back on serve in the next game, Djokovic held his serve and never looked back. 

“The beginning of the second set I knew it was very important to try to break his serve right away and get into an advantage, which I did,” Djokovic said. “I managed to finish off the match really well.”

The key was Pouille’s declining first-serve percentage during the match, falling from 68 per cent in the opener to 43 per cent in the second set. That made playing aggressively from the baseline more and more difficult, as Djokovic pressured the World No. 31 immediately.

Djokovic will next face red-hot Russian Daniil Medvedev, who will try to make his second Masters 1000 final in as many weeks. The World No. 1 leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-1, but Medvedev won their most recent meeting at this year’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Did You Know?
Djokovic is pushing to retake the lead in the ATP Race To London. Nadal seized the top spot on Monday after winning the Coupe Rogers. But if Djokovic advances to Sunday’s final, he will regain the advantage in the battle for the year-end No. 1 ATP Ranking.

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray accepted a wild card into the singles draw at the Winston-Salem Open. But the 45-time tour-level titlist will have his work cut out for him if he is going to lift his first ATP Tour singles trophy since 2017 Dubai.

The Scot will open against reigning Auckland titlist and 2018 Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren in Murray’s second singles match since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery after the Australian Open. The 32-year-old lost against Richard Gasquet in straight sets in his return to the discipline this week at the Western & Southern Open.

If Murray advanced, he will likely face a series of #NextGenATP challenges. His second-round opponent would be 20-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who is the second seed. It would be their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

Also in their section is in-form #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, the No. 13 seed. Kecmanovic beat Felix Auger-Aliassime and reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati. The Antalya finalist could play fellow #NextGenATP star Alexei Popyrin of Australia in the second round.

Besides Murray, there is another former Top 5 player in the field: former World No. 4 Tomas Berdych, who received a wild card. The Czech, a 13-time ATP Tour champion, will be competing for just the second time since the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March.

Frenchman Benoit Paire is the top seed at this ATP 250 tournament, where he will try to win his third ATP Tour title of the season. The 30-year-old will play Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran or German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the second round.

The only former champion in the singles draw is Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who won the title in 2016. He is in Paire’s quarter of the draw and will play Romanian Marius Copil or Slovak Martin Klizan in his second-round match.

Did You Know?
Five of the Top 8 players in the ATP Race To Milan are seeded in Winston-Salem.

Qualifier Andrey Rublev put together an impressive run at the Western & Southern Open, defeating the man who beat him in last month’s Hamburg final (Nikoloz Basilashvili), a former World No. 3 (Stan Wawrinka) and a seven-time Cincinnati champion (Roger Federer). But on Friday evening, the two-time Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier ran into a wall. A Daniil Medvedev wall, that is.

The red-hot Medvedev ousted his compatriot 6-2, 6-3 after 61 minutes to reach his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in as many weeks after reaching his first championship match at this level at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal. Medvedev, playing at a career-high No. 8 in the ATP Rankings in Ohio, is projected to climb to at least No. 7 on Monday pending his results the rest of the tournament.

“I played great. I think I managed to [pressure him] straight away as [I have] every match I played here. In both sets I was breaking him early, giving me a lot of confidence,” Medvedev said. “I was not serving that good today, but in the crucial moments I was able to do it and that was the most important.””

Medvedev, who is now a perfect 3-0 in Masters 1000 quarter-finals, has not lost a set en route to the last four. This time last season, Medvedev was the World No. 56, and he lost in the first round of the main draw in Cincinnati after having to go through qualifying.

Medvedev will face defending champion and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Saturday for a spot in the final. If the Russian advances, he will battle for a trophy for the third consecutive week after falling just short in Washington, D.C. and Montreal.

“Novak is Novak,” Medvedev said. “There is actually nothing to say about him. Just huge respect.”

In stunning Federer on Thursday, Rublev played lights-out tennis to earn his second consecutive victory when facing a Top 5 opponent (Thiem in Hamburg). But he struggled on serve against his countryman, losing serve four times.

Rublev was not able to find the level he did earlier in the tournament, but Medvedev also acted like a backboard, allowing his 21-year-old opponent to make the mistakes he did. The 2017 Umag champion won just 65 per cent of his first-serve points, and was unable to elicit many short balls to get in a rhythm with his offence.

Medvedev was strong on serve himself, striking nine aces and facing only one break point in the match. Although the ninth seed did give up a break with a 4-0 lead in the first set, he was already up two breaks, so it did not have a major impact on the match.

The four-time ATP Tour titlist has now played 14 singles matches in less than three weeks. But what has helped is that all 12 of his wins have come in straight sets, as have his two losses during this stretch.

“I’m getting a little bit tired, of course, step by step with all the matches. [It] helps that I win in straight sets, or [that I am] losing in straight sets also,” Medvedev said. “Otherwise, I think one match 7-6 in the third could be tough for me. But so far, I [am] feeling great, feeling good about my tennis.”

Did You Know?
Medvedev is currently placed sixth in the ATP Race To London as he tries to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time (Buy Tickets). View Standings