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Tag: David Goffin

2015 Davis Cup Final: Belgium vs. Great Britain Preview

This year has been a strange one for the Davis Cup. The usual contestants all disappeared early as France, the Czech Republic, and defending champion Switzerland all lost before the semifinals. As the dust settles, we are left with an unlikely matchup of unseeded teams in the final. Both Great Britain and Belgium upset several higher-ranked teams to get where they are. For Great Britain, it is their first final since 1978; if they win, it will be their first Davis Cup title since 1936. For Belgium, it is their first final since 1904; if they win, it will be their first-ever Davis Cup title.

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Click here to discuss the Davis Cup Final in the discussion forum.

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The Great Britain team starts and ends with Andy Murray. He has won all five singles matches, as well as the two doubles matches he has played this year. James Ward was the hero in the first round when he defeated John Isner 15-13 in the 5^th set to give Great Britain a 2-0 lead. In the final, the No. 2 spot will be between Ward and Kyle Edmund. It’s pretty obvious that the Murray brothers will be teaming up for the doubles after their heroics against France and Australia.
In a similar way, David Goffin is the center of the Belgian team. They need two wins from their star player if they hope to take home one of the best trophies in all of sports. Steve Darcis may be more important in the No. 2 singles slot than their doubles team.

The Davis Cup Trophy

How They Got Here:
Great Britain defeated the United States 3-2, and then upset top-seed France in the quarterfinals. After tying it up with a win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on clay, the Murray brothers fought out a tough four-set doubles win over Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut. Murray’s amazing determination to get a comeback win over Gilles Simon seemed to be the turning point for the British team. It was suddenly from this point that a Davis Cup championship for Great Britain didn’t seem like such a crazy idea. I still don’t know how Murray won that match, but that was the pivotal point of the season for this team.
In the semifinals, Great Britain may have been lucky with all the hoopla surrounding Bernard Tomic (on the team, off the team, on the team) and Nicholas Kyrgios (timeout for you!). With Kyrgios excused from the team, Murray took care of Tomic and Kokkinakis, and in the doubles teamed up with Jamie to come from a set down to get the win. That five-set doubles match may have been the match that decided the 2015 Davis Cup champion. Lleyton Hewitt was playing in his final Davis Cup, and alongside Sam Groth, threw everything they had at the Murray Brothers, but the Murrays came from behind to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4.

As for Belgium, they were also the underdogs in every round. They were fortunate to draw a Federer/Wawrinka-less No. 2 Swiss team in the first round but still barely won 3-2. In the quarterfinals against the No. 8 team, Canada, they were again fortunate in that Raonic and Pospisil were out with injuries, so they won easily 5-0.
Against the No. 5 team, the favored Argentina, Goffin won both of his singles matches, but they dropped the doubles and it looked over, but somehow Darcis came through for the Belgians and defeated the higher-ranked Federico Delbonis and sent the Belgians to the final for the first time in 111 years.

Both teams have been fortunate in getting to the final but here they are. There is no mistaking that this is Murray’s and Goffin’s teams. Each team has needed their unlikely heroes (Ward and Darcis), but whether they win or not depends on the performances of their star players.

Predictions:
Singles: Andy Murray (2) vs. David Goffin (16)
Murray leads the head-to-head 2-0. Goffin has yet to win a set off Murray. We all saw the beat down that Murray put on Goffin at the Paris Masters where he allowed Goffin only one game. Murray is definitely the favorite here. The things Belgium must count on are the clay court, Murray’s fatigue from the World Tour Finals, and the home-court advantage. That probably won’t be enough for Goffin to be able to upset a determined Murray. Great Britain 1-0 Belgium

Singles: Steve Darcis (84) vs. Kyle Edmund (100) or James Ward (159)
Darcis has to win here to give Belgium a chance. Neither Edmund nor Ward have played Darcis before, but just from Davis Cup experience and ranking, you would have to give the edge to Darcis. But it’s a small edge. Tied 1-1

Doubles: Andy and Jaime Murray vs. Rueben Bemelmans and Kimmer Coppejans (or Steve Darcis)
After their heroics in the last two rounds, you have to expect Great Britain will go with the Murray Brothers. Belgium has gone with a different team each time. Bemelmans (doubles ranking No. 160) had three different partners in the first three rounds, so it’s tough to guess with whom he will team up. Coppejans (doubles ranking No. 501) might be our best bet but the Belgian team might go with Darcis (doubles ranking No. 596). Still, Great Britain has Jamie Murray, one of the best doubles players at the moment, so the British look good here. Great Britain leads 2-1

Singles: Andy Murray vs. Steve Darcis
This is their first meeting but it’s difficult to imagine Murray going down to Darcis after the solid, consistent season he had and with so much riding on the line. Great Britain leads 3-1

Singles: David Goffin vs. Kyle Edmund or James Ward
Goffin has never met either British player, but he would have to be favored in this one. That is to say, if there is a fifth match. Great Britain leads 3-2

Past Records:
Great Britain will be playing in its first final since 1978, and they will be trying to win their first Davis Cup title since 1936 (their 10th overall). Belgium is in its first final since 1904, and it would be their first title if they win. The two countries have met in Davis Cup competition 11 times. Great Britain has won seven of the meetings, but Belgium won their most recent meeting in 2012.

Fun Fact:
Team Great Britain has defeated the top three teams with the most Davis Cup championships to get to the final: United States (32), France (9), and Australia (28).

Prediction:
Great Britain wins 3-2 on the strength of three Murray wins for its first Davis Cup championship in 79 years.

Request:
If Great Britain does win, they better give Judy Murray a Davis Cup trophy of her own!

Prayer:
May there be no terrorism and may all the players, fans, and people working at the venues be safe.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis (Andy Murray), Tatiana (David Goffin) and elPadawan (Davis Cup trophy).

November 24, 2015
2015 Davis Cup Quarterfinals Review

The 2015 Davis Cup quarterfinals were held across the world during July 17-19. As usual, they provided drama, comebacks, upsets, and promise. There was a country crumbling without its injured top players, and a heroic performance by a two-time Major champion playing his last season. There were two brothers carrying the hopes of a country on their shoulders, and a country getting closer to the title it has never won but so desperately wants. It was a great week for the sport of tennis, no matter who was playing.

Middelkerke, Belgium: Injury-riddled No. 8 Canada loses to Belgium. Canada was the higher seed, but with No. 8 Milos Raonic and No. 30 Vasek Pospisil out with injuries, the Canadians were the clear underdogs. Belgium, led by No. 14 David Goffin, had absolutely no trouble. They dropped only two sets on the way to a 5-0 sweep, allowing Belgium to advance to its first semifinal since 1999.

Buenos Aires, Argentina: No. 5 Argentina knocks out Djokovic-less No. 4 Serbia. Without Serbia’s World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the lineup, Serbia and Argentina looked to be pretty evenly matched. It looked like things would be going down to the fifth match on Sunday, but then Delbonis happened. Argentina won the first match of the day but Viktor Troicki looked to have Serbia right back in it when he won the first two sets against the Argentine. Then a Wimbledon flashback occurred: Just as he had done in the fourth round against Pospisil, Troicki couldn’t finish the job, and Delbonis scored a huge comeback win and a massive blow to Serbia’s hopes of getting through without their No. 1 player. Argentina took a surprisingly easy three-set win in the doubles on Saturday, and advanced to their first semifinal since 2013.

Darwin, Australia: Australia’s youth drop the ball, but the veterans save the day. Australia seemed to have a bright future in Davis Cup at the beginning of the year, but those hopes have taken a bit of a hit lately. Australian No. 1 Bernard Tomic got kicked off the team and then managed to get himself arrested in Miami, Florida, a few days before competition began. Nick Kyrgios carries drama wherever he goes. Aussie Captain Wally Masur, eye firmly on the future, went with his young stars in the first two matches: No. 41 Nick Kyrgios, and No. 69 Thanasi Kokkinakis. They managed to win one set between them. Australia was suddenly staring at a 0-2 hole. Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt teamed up to win the doubles point, and now Masur had a decision to make: youth or experience. He went with experience. He ditched Australia’s future for the time being and sent out Groth for the first match. It was very close and a few points would have changed the outcome but Groth gutted out a hard-fought four-set victory to tie everything up at 2-2. Then Lleyton Hewitt took the court. His ranking has dropped to No. 279, and it looked like Australia might be heading home early. But never count out Hewitt. In what could have been his 77^th and final Davis Cup match, Hewitt took a first set tiebreak and never looked back, winning in straight sets and sending Australia to their first semifinal since 2006.

London, England: Standing on the shoulders of Murrays. The No. 1 team in the world, France, with its loaded lineup and Davis Cup experience, had to be thinking this year was going to be the year they finally lifted (or sat on it, actually, since it’s so huge) the Davis Cup for the 10^th time, and for the first time since 2001. After splitting the first two matches, Great Britain’s captain Leon Smith decided to go with Andy and Jaime Murray. It was a big gamble but the Brits absolutely needed this doubles match to have a chance. The Murray brothers came through. Jaime, with his world doubles ranking of No. 20 and a recent runner-up finish in the men’s doubles at Wimbledon, led the way and played some inspired tennis to grab the win after dropping the first set. Suddenly, Great Britain had a 2-1 lead and only needing a win by Andy Murray over Gilles Simon on Sunday to beat France for the first time since 1978. Simon had been playing very well lately, with a quarterfinal finish at Wimbledon. For the first two sets, Simon played brilliantly and Murray was tentative, no doubt feeling all the pressure from his home country on his shoulders. With Simon up a set and leading 4-1 in the second set tiebreak, things looked a bit bleak for Great Britain. Then Murray gritted his teeth and somehow, someway took the second set tiebreak. With that behind him, he started playing much better and Simon was the one who became tentative. Murray quickly wrapped up the match in four sets. The enormous pressure finally got to Murray and he broke down on court-side after the match. One thing is for certain: if Great Britain actually wins the Davis Cup this year, they had better send Mama Judy Murray a trophy of her own.

The semifinals of the 2015 Davis Cup will be on September 18-19, with Great Britain hosting Australia, and Belgium hosting Argentina.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): elPadawan

July 20, 2015
Goffin Wins First Title in Kitzbuhel

David Goffin of Belgium defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria on Saturday at the Bet-at-Home Cup, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. It was the first ATP final for either man, and therefore the 23-year-old Goffin’s first title. Thiem is a young player on the rise, just 20 years old, but even the support of the local crowd couldn’t get him through to his first trophy.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

August 4, 2014
Young Guns, Players to watch in 2013

Below are ten players age 24 or younger that could be risers in the rankings and bear watching. They are ordered by current official ATP ranking (as of March 4th), and thus before Indian Wells. I’m also including their birth month and year in parentheses.

#16 – Kei Nishikori (12/89) – Kei made a big leap in 2011, going from #98 to #25, but his rise was slower in 2012, finishing the year just six ranks higher at #19. But remember that he missed the French Open, as well as Madrid and Rome, so any points in those three tournaments should help his ranking. Like Milos Raonic, Kei is a good candidate to challenge Janko Tipsarevic and Richard Gasquet for a spot in the top 10 this year and should at least become a player regularly ranking the #10-15 range.

#17 – Milos Raonic (12/90) – Milos cruised up the rankings last year, from #31 to #13. He’s been holding steady in the mid-teens so far this season and hasn’t quite had that breakthrough performance, making it the 4R at the last two Slams and never going past the QF at an ATP 1000. Milos has played seven finals, winning all four ATP 250s and losing all three ATP 500s. Raonic is as good a candidate as any to play spoiler at a Slam or even contend for an ATP 1000, but he doesn’t seem to be able to get over the hump…yet. When he does he could be a similar player to Juan Martin Del Potro at his best.

#22 – Alexandr Dolgopolov (11/88) – Talk about an enigma. Alexandr looked like he was going to rise quickly when he made it to the QF of the 2011 Australian Open, but has been erratic since. Sometimes he looks like a top 10 player, sometimes he goes out in the first round of a tournament. He finished 2011 at #15 and 2012 at #18; he’s now #22, so the trajectory is not a good one. He needs to straighten things out – he’s going to turn 25 at the end of the year, so he should be playing at his best by now. That said, I see him more in the Gasquet/Cilic mold – very talented, but probably not a regular in the top 10.

#24 – Jerzy Janowicz (11/90) – Jerzy bust on the scene last year by making it to the final of the Paris Masters, plowing through Andy Murray and a few other top 20 players before David Ferrer taught the youngster a lesson. He followed up with a solid Australian Open, losing in the 3R to Nicolas Almagro. Jerzy is somewhat similar to Milos Raonic: A big man with a big serve, although his serve isn’t as good as Milos’s. That said, his overall game might be as good or better. Like Raonic, he could be a spoiler this year. I think he’ll have his ups and down but will finish the year in the top 20, maybe higher, and have a chance for big things in 2014.

#29 – Martin Klizan (7/89) – Martin Klizan, you ask? Well, he had a strong performance at the US Open last year – making it to the 4R – and then following it up with an ATP 250 win in St Petersburg, defeating Fabio Fognini. Klizan won’t be an elite player but he could be a perennial top 20 player.

#31 – Grigor Dimitrov (5/91) – Ah, Grigor, what a tease. He still hasn’t gone past the 2R at a Slam, but has risen about 30 spots in each of the last two years, finishing 106, 76, and 48 in 2010-12, and already has risen half that in this early season. Baby Fed is talented, although probably not talented enough to live up to his nickname. But I can’t help but like him – he DOES have some of Roger’s smoothness, and he’ll occasionally offer a backhand and/or dropshot reminiscent of the Great One. But let’s look at Dimitrov for what he is: A rising talent, but probably not an all-time great. At almost 22, it may be a bit too late for that. But I do have high hopes for Grigor. I think he could be one of a few players–along with Raonic, Janowicz, and Tomic, maybe one or two others–that will start taking tournaments from the Big Four in the next two or three years as they begin to age. In other words, a 21-year old Dimitrov might not be a challenge for a 25-year old Djokovic, but a 24-year old Dimitrov might challenge a 28-year old Djokovic.

Expect Grigor to firmly place himself in the top 20 by the end of this year, and perhaps vie for the top 10 next year. He may not be a future #1, but in another two or three years he could be one of the 5-10 best players in the game.

#40 – Benoit Paire (5/89) – For some reason I pair Paire (pun intended) with Klizan. Both will turn 24 in a few months, both seem to have similar upside – top 15-20 at best. Paire hasn’t won a tournament yet, although has made it to two ATP 250 finals, most recently losing to Richard Gasquet in Montpellier. Paire has yet to make it past the 3R at a Grand Slam and most recently went out in the 1R in Australia, so he needs to up his game a bit at the Slams.

#45 – Bernard Tomic (10/92) – The second great tease of this list. Bernard is one of the few players on this list that actually took a slight step back in the rankings, finishing 2011 at #42 and 2012 at #52. But that’s largely due to the fact that he made it to the QF of 2011 Wimbledon, although had an overall slightly better year in 2012 – and certainly played a fuller schedule. i think Tomic is ready to rise up the rankings and, like Dimitrov, could end the year in the top 20. He could suprise, though, and make it to another Slam QF this year.

#54 – David Goffin (12/90) – I can’t help but like David Goffin. He started on the tour late, but made his mark last year by making it to the 4R at the French Open and the 3R at Wimbledon. But he only played in three ATP 1000 tournaments, and only made it past the qualifications once, so this year could see a lot of points added. I don’t see an elite player but, like Klizan and Paire, he could find himself a regular place in the top 20.

#83 – Evgeny Donskoy (5/90) – He’ll be 23 soon, but he bears watching. Why? Well, in his first Slam that he made it past the Qualifications, he made it to the 3R, defeating Adrian Ungur and then Mikhail Youzhny before losing to Kei Nishikori. Yesterday he defeated Tatsumo Ito and will face Andy Murray in the 2R at Indian Wells, so his journey likely ends there. But again, he bears watching. He could rise quickly and enter the top 40-50 in short time.

Bonus player…

#330 – Nick Kyrgios (4/95) – Nick Kyrgios? Well, he’s 17 years old and is the highest ranked teenager in the ATP Race Ranking right now, which isn’t saying much but says something. He won the boys event at the AO and is now on the men’s tour. I know nothing about his skills but it is hard not to take notice of a 17-year old on the tour…let’s hope he does well!

Honorable Mentions – Ryan Harrison, Jack Sock, Rhyne Williams, Matthew Barton.

April 19, 2013