Wk.38- Downloading New Goffin Update, version 2.0

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

There are some famous terms in sports, recognizable by many, even those outside of that sport or those who do not follow sport at all. Touchdown, strike, goal, hole-in-one, ace, backstroke are all terms which can be made relevant to one particular sport or even sports. There are more obscure terms such as foot fault, eagle and the like which are less well known. Tennis can, I think, lay claim to one of the most insulting terms in sport. Not a one off, sometimes referred to insult such as "Fail Mary" but a commonly used standardized term. The term lucky loser. It says to people, "Yes, you suck, but hey some guy got injured so you're lucky enough to get another go. You're not good, you're lucky." It is insulting but it has been around for time immemorial, so we leave it. But the term Lucky Loser contains a standard insult in its name.

Todd sometimes does "What If" posts. They are excellent and worth checking out. And he has talked about in those the fact that some players never got their big break. And he talks about how some players had their big break here. And if they hadn't would it be different. Here is what he said:

"While the 'path to greatness' is made up of a series of connective actions and decisions, often there iS ONE moment that stands out from the rest. One career-defining instant when everything "clicked" and after which the player was never the same. One timeless victory that simultaneously allowed the benefits of all the hard work to come to fruition, and whetted the appetite for more of the same."

At the 2012 Frech Open, David Goffin did not deserve his moment, though he got it anyhow. Seeded ninth in qualifying, he choked in his final match and lost to Sousa [yes, the man he beat to win his Week 38 title] in two straights. Somehow he got moved to the main tournament through an injury or withdrawal from another player. He came back twice from two sets to one down to beat Stepanek and Clement back to back. After dismissing Kubot he had his shot at Federer. Watching that game was simply incredible, simply amazing. Federer was playing some lucky loser in the fourth round of a slam. And he was outclassed for two sets but, somehow, managed to sneak the second. Despite losing the first set in what was then a huge upset, Federer came back to take it in four tight sets 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. That was Goffin's moment. Those first two sets.

Despite following it up with successes, he slowly slipped and was ranked below nowhere at the start of this year. He had no form, no ranking and nothing going for him. But he has turned it round and had a second career after the big breakthrough like Tomic has. He has done well on the challenger circuit and finally has come up to the big leagues. He has arrived. He has successfully downloaded.

Funnily enough, it's just one event this week. Shall we have a look at it?

Also, I want to extend my wishes for luck in the future to Li Na. I wish her all the best in the coming years. Her expected retirement is nevertheless a loss to the sport. She will be brilliant in whatever she chooses to do. Todd has written a perfect piece on her on WTA Backspin. And it is a great read. You shall be missed, Li Na.



*Week 38 CHAMPIONS*
METZ, FRANCE
S: David Goffin d. Joao Sousa 6-4/6-3
D: Fyrstenberg/Matkowski d. Draganja/Kontinen


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: GOFFIN, BEL
...Sometimes players hit that purple patch and they just rip through all in their path. Players can simply catch fire and be too good. Tsonga has periods where everything clicks and so does Cilic. Hitting a patch like that is always a great feeling. It makes one feel like they can't miss, like the world belongs to them. Confidence is so important to players. From July to August, Goffin won four consecutive tournaments. The first three of which were challengers, but he did win the Austrian Open (def. Thiem) at the end, as well, to complement those first three. He took his form into the U.S. Open, bageling Dimitrov before losing out eventually. And here, apart from Tsonga, he was barely troubled by the field. He dropped just one set and was utterly impressive throughout. He dismissed Serra and Kamke for the loss of just eight games in his first two rounds. Despite Tsonga mashing him for two sets, he won that, as well, with a 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 decision going his way. He was simply too strong for surprise package Struff, too, and he made his second final of the year. Sunday was the last day of the summer, so he has made two finals this summer and won both if them. He sealed the second by cruising past Sousa. He was never troubled. Ranked at 32, his highest ever ranking, he needs to now retain this seeding until January. Not being seeded at slams has burned him in the past and if he can just cling onto a seed at the Australian Open he has a real chance of breaking the top twenty next year. He can pick up points at some of the Masters tournaments coming up. I think he will finish the year in the top thirty, but only time can tell.
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RISER: SOUSA, POR
...Sousa is 5-2 in challenger finals, but only 1-2 in ATP finals. It is not a Hall of fame career but it is definitely a solid one. It is definitely already one to look back on with some pride. He is till only 25, too. The first Portuguese man to enter the top fifty went into this tournament seeded sixth but looked unlikely to have much impact. He dismissed Dodig 6-2, 6-2 in his opener. This was impressive considering that was a test on paper. Sousa barely scraped past Sijsling next as he came through 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. In a similar scoreline, he edged Mathieu 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. Strangely he had a far easier time against second seed Monfils and won that fairly comfortably. Goffin was far too strong in the final but that semifinal run was a big one. Sousa moves on and there is a whole bunch, a slew if you will, of 250's and even some 500's with a weaker field. We have not heard the last of the Portuguese man just yet and I think he will finish around thirty in the world. It would be deserved too.
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SURPRISE: STRUFF, GER
...Jay-Lennard has made eight challenger finals in his career. Eight times he has had a chance at a big win. How many has he won? Well, it rhymes with "won" but there isn't much else won about it. He lost his first final, in 2011, to Sousa, funnily enough. He lost a final last week, though it was to Dustin Brown. After that final in Poland he moved to France and made a semifinal. Struff was never going to win this event, but in a weaker event like this, anything could happen. Struff edged Lajovic 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. It was a tight match against a talented youngster and he had a tough test next. He lost another first set breaker to Chardy but still won, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. Kohl retired 5-0 down to Struff to leave the German in the semifinals and the German with an injury. He would lose the first set in a breaker to Goffin but this time there would be no three set win. It ended a great week for the German.
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FRESH FACE: LOKOLI, FRA
...The twenty year old [twenty from next month] was someone we saw at the French -- he went two sets to none up against Steve Johnson. It eventually proved to be futile as he'd go on to lose in five but it showed his immense talent. He looks a little like Tsonga but he did not win a match in this tournament, unlike Tsonga. Lokoli would go on to lose 6-2, 6-4 to Lorenzi but the encouraging signs are there. Barty, another youngster, has announced she is stepping away from tennis for awhile. I hope she will be back soon.
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VETERAN: MULLER, LUX
...In 2008 Muller announced his arrival properly by beating Haas, Almagro and fifth seeded Davydenko at the U.S. Open to reach the quarterfinals. He had made a couple of hard-court finals but nothing like that run. He was just 25 then and looked to have a bright future. Since then he has made a single final, on hard-court and two years ago. He blew a lead against Andy Roddick in the final of a tournament which would prove to be the last Andy Roddick won. Muller is now in his thirties and looks to be on the way out. He is now just a name, a name that makes one stoop and pause for a second before moving on. His clash against Tsonga looked interesting on paper but it did not prove to be so with Tsonga being barely troubled in the match.
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DOWN: ROSOL, CZE
...After being outclassed by the Swiss he had a chance to outclass a weak field. There were few players of any note in his small section of the draw, few players he couldn't outhit and yet he blew it. He had a big chance to win this tournament but could not take it. Rosol is such an inconsistent and mystifying player that he is hard to predict. Right now he is floundering a little and I don't think his form is that good.
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UPSET: SOUSA, POR
...Sousa upsetting a top twenty player in straight sets is a big upset for me. He was simply too good for Monfils from start to finish. Sousa has already made a good career for himself out of upsets and being strong at this level. He has achieved something rare for this sport -- he is a consistent top forty player and he is still only twenty-five.
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1. METZ QF - GOFFIN d. TSONGA
...1-6/7-6/7-5. The French. When the tennis gods were giving out talent and mental fortitude to each country they must have used France as a test subject. What happens if I do this? What you get are fantastically talented players incapable of closing matches. Tsonga dominated for two sets but ultimately choked and lost a tournament he should have won.
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2. METZ SF - SOUSA d. MONFILS
...7-6/6--2. Sousa has made a career out of the unexpected. He did it again here, surprising Monfils. The Portuguese number one was not able to take it all the way but he did have a great week here and is up to number thirty-six.
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3. METZ 1st Rd. – JANOWICZ d. MANNARINO
...2-6/7-6/6-4. Could Janowicz be back? He had a solid QF result this week, though he failed to trouble Monfils once he reached that stage. Janowicz would probably be a top ten mainstay were it not for injuries and complications that have risen from those injuries. He scraped past Mannarino but that doesn't matter because on the ATP the ends justifies the means.
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*SHENZHEN, CHINA*
=SF=
Ferrer [1] d. [4] Robredo
Murray [2] d. [3] Gasquet
=FINAL=
Ferrer[1] d. [2] Murrray

...I have no idea of Murray's form.

*KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia*
=SF=
Nishikori [1] d. [7] Andujar
Gulbis [2] d. [4] Benneteau
=FINAL=
Nishikori [1] d. [2] Gulbis

...I can't go against a recent slam finalist in a weakened field.

Thanx all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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