Grigor Dimitrov has reached his first ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final after David Goffin was forced to retire on Saturday with an eye injury.
”We had such a great battle,” Dimitrov said. “Playing David always excites me and I always like to compete against him… just very unfortunate today.”
Dimitrov moves into Sunday’s final, where he will meet top seed Roger Federer, who ousted lucky loser Andreas Seppi in straight sets. Dimitrov trails Federer in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 0-6, and a final encounter against Seppi would mark their first meeting. The 26-year-old seeks his first ATP World Tour 500 title since 2014 Acapulco.
The World No. 5, who began his campaign with a semi-final showing at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp and a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open, is into his first final since claiming glory at last year’s season finale at The O2. It is the 15th tour-level final of Dimitrov’s career (8-6).
The Bulgarian was serving at 6-3, 0-1 when he hit a forehand passing shot that ricocheted off the Belgian’s racquet and into Goffin’s left eye as he attempted a volley. Dimitrov immediately rushed to offer support before carrying the Belgian No. 1’s racquet back to his chair. The World No. 7 was unable to continue in what was a rematch of the championship final at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. It was the second freak Goffin has fallen victim to in eight months after the 27-year-old injured his right ankle after getting it caught in a tarpaulin cover at Roland Garros last year.