At the Net: Goffin’s got it goin’

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Belgian tennis, of course, enjoyed quite a bit of success on the women’s side in recent years, thanks to former world No. 1s Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters in the 2000s, but they’ve yet to produce a bona fide men’s stud.

Enter David Goffin?

The 23-year-old has been the quietest hottest young star among the men over the last few months and boasts a 34-2 record to prove it.

Goffin was taught to play tennis by his father, Michel, who is a coach at a tennis club in Liege, the birthplace of both Goffin and the great Henin.

“La Goff,” who will turn 24 in December, nailed down his second ATP-level title last week when he topped the field in Metz, France, including a victory over French favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. Goffin ultimately beat fellow rising star Joao Sousa of Portugal in the final to give himself a tidy little seven-match winning streak.

In addition to upsetting the former world No. 5 star Tsonga, Goffin has also beaten the likes of one-time world No. 9 John Isner, former world No. 8 Radek Stepanek and former No. 12 player Viktor Troicki on tour.

He captured his first-ever ATP title in Kitzbuhel, Austria, in July, a month that saw the Belgian build a torrid 20-match winning streak, with 15 of the wins coming on the Challenger circuit, or the minor leagues of men’s tennis. In Kitzbuhel, he outplayed another fellow rising star, Austrian Dominic Thiem, in the final.

Last week, Goffin became the fourth player born in the ’90s to win multiple ATP titles, following in the footsteps of fellow young guns Milos Raonic (6), Grigor Dimitrov (4) and Bernard Tomic (2).

He’s a sizzling 17-2 since losing to former world No. 2 Andy Murray in the opening round at Wimbledon in June.

Coached by Thierry Van Cleemput, Goffin is a 5-foot-11 (doubtful) five-year pro who opened 2014 ranked 113th in the world. But his fine play over the last few months now has him up to a career-high No. 32.

Note: With Goffin in the mix, Europe now boasts 25 of the top-32 players on the planet.

Goffin had never reached an ATP final until this year, but is now 2-0 in his career finals, with both wins coming on European spoil.

“That’s the advantage of playing close to home,” he said. “Winning my second title feels just as good as the first one. I’m very happy.”

Goffin has struggled at the Grand Slams to this point, but did enjoy his best- ever showing at the U.S. Open by reaching the third round in Flushing, including a victory over the aforementioned Sousa. His best finish at a Slam was a fourth-round appearance, as a lucky loser, at the French Open two years ago when he took a set off his tennis hero, the great Roger Federer, before bowing out at the hands of the Swiss legend in Paris.

I don’t know is Goffin is on the same young-star level as a Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori, Raonic, or Dimitrov, but he’s been playing like he wants to be a part of that … and I’m startin’ to like his chances.

Categorized in: Tennis