A five-time champion in the Spanish capital, Nadal is looking to match Novak Djokovic’s career record of 37 ATP Masters 1000 titles this week.
Browsing: David Goffin
The former World No 1 will now focus on his rehabilitation ahead of the 2019 season
Federer’s semi-final opponent David Goffin retired with a shoulder injury. Federer won the first set after a tie break 7-6(7-3). The players were locked 1-1 in the second when Goffin called it a night.
The Serbian, champion at Roland Garros in 2016, wasn’t broken by the Spanish veteran in a resounding 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory.
Nadal also extended his winning streak on clay to 44 consecutive sets with a comfortable 6-4 6-0 win over the Belgian on Saturday
Dimitrov, seeded sixth in the tournament, beat 7th seed Goffin 7-5 4-6 6-3 in a thrilling match that lasted two hours thirty minutes
As if clocking up a first victory over Rafael Nadal was not enough, Goffin continued breaking new ground by causing an upset against Federer to claim the biggest win of his career
Nadal announced last year he would sue Roselyne Bachelot after she made comments in a television interview suggesting he had taken performance enhancing drugs in 2012
“I‘m not ready to play… I fought a lot knowing it was my last match of the season,” the world number one, who had also quit midway through the Paris Masters tournament two weeks ago, told reporters following his 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-4 defeat by Goffin
Twenty-six-year-old Goffin, who turned pro in 2009, held his ground when he edged Nadal on Monday at the Nitto ATP Finals, 6-7(5), 7-6(4) 6-4
The world number five will take on Novak Djokovic in Saturday’s last-four showdown, with the Serbian being handed a walkover win against Kei Nishikori earlier on Friday
Nadal was flawless in the first set, only giving his opponent one game as he was ruthless with his service
Although the score suggests a comfortable win for Nadal, Goffin’s momentum was halted by a controversial decision by chair umpire Cedric Mourier in the sixth game
Nadal fought back from a break down in the first set and went on to win 6-4 in controversial circumstances
Goffin, who will meet Rafael Nadal or Diego Schwartzman in the semi-finals, had not previously beaten a top-three player
Murray, who had not conceded a set in his previous five encounters against the Belgian, was beaten 6-7 (4-7) 4-6