David Goffin, once again, produced a scintillating performance at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament to beat Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-3 and book his place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Goffin who has lost just eight games en route to the last eight, hit nine aces and lost just one point in each set behind his first serve to beat the Spanish left-hander in 55 minutes. The 2017 runner-up raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first set before securing the set on his third set point. The Belgian’s momentum flowed seamlessly into the second set with a crucial fourth break of the Lopez serve proving the key to victory in Rotterdam.
The World No. 7 now leads their FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against Lopez 3-0 and next faces sixth seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals.
[ALSO LIKE]
Berdych advanced to the quarter-finals with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 win over Serbia's Viktor Troicki. The Czech took exactly an hour to beat Troicki, breaking his opponent on four occasions, to set up a fascinating last eight clash with Nitto ATP Finals runner-up Goffin.
Robin Haase won the all-Dutch battle on Centre Court to beat countryman Thiemo de Bakker 6-2, 6-2. The 30-year-old lost just six points on serve and faced no break points en route to a 54-minute victory. Haase will meet a second compatriot in as many rounds, after Tallon Griekspoor’s surprise win over Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday.
Qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert also made his way through to the second round after Open Sud de France finalist Richard Gasquet was forced to retire. Herbert was leading 3-1 early in the first set when Gasquet called time on the match.
Did You Know?
David Goffin won 25 of his last 33 matches in 2017, including back-to-back titles in Shenzhen (d. Dolgopolov) and Tokyo (d. Mannarino).