Goffin Graft Edges Out Tiafoe In Wimbledon Epic

David Goffin dashed Frances Tiafoe’s Grand Slam hopes for the second consecutive major on Sunday at Wimbledon, where the Belgian held his nerve to clinch a thrilling five-set fourth-round victory on the London grass.

The former World No. 7 rallied in the final two sets to seal a 7-6(3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 win against the 23rd-seeded American on No. 2 Court. Goffin also prevailed in the pair’s second-round meeting on the clay at Roland Garros just five-and-a-half weeks ago.

“It was an amazing battle, I had to stay mentally in the match the whole time,” said Goffin in his on-court interview after his four-hour, 36-minute triumph. “Just after the match point, I was mentally dead, because I had to stay fresh all the time to keep my serve, to fight to come back after losing the third set. It was a tough one.

“It was an amazing atmosphere on this court, another epic match against Frances, so I’m very happy to be in the quarter-finals again.”

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A topsy-turvy encounter saw both players break their opponent’s serve six times. It was Goffin who found one at the crucial time, however, sealing a decisive break in the 12th game of the fifth set to complete a memorable victory.

The Belgian also reached the quarter-finals on his last appearance at SW19 in 2019, when he fell to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. He admitted that matching that run this year was a particularly emotional moment after an injury-plagued 2021 during which he missed the grass-court major with an ankle problem. Goffin was then out of action from August 2021 to January 2022 with a knee injury.

“It means so much,” said Goffin. “For me, last year was a very tough year with some injuries. Some tough moments on the court, but this year I came back stronger. I fought a lot to come back at my best level.

“I didn’t play a match since 2019 here at The Championships, so to come back this year to compete again well on that surface that I love, [at] this tournament that I love, and win four matches again, it is just incredible.”

The 31-year-old’s opponent in the last eight this time around will be home hope Cameron Norrie, after the British No. 1 downed Tommy Paul 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.