David Goffin (ATP-13) and Federico Delbonis (ATP-64) faced each other in Rome for the second time in their career. Goffin kept good memories of the Argentinian, because in 2015 he beat Delbonis in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup duel with Argentina.
But in Rome, Goffin never found a solution to the game of the left-handed Delbonis, who barely allowed our compatriot 3 games. After an hour of tennis, Goffin was already allowed to pack: 6-2 and 6-1.
In the next round, Delbonis may compete against the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime.
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Goffin made no excuses after the beating. “This was really bad”, said the best Belgian afterwards. “My strokes were not good and I couldn’t hurt him.”
“I also served poorly. I really didn’t make any point. And Federico served well. His serve is a bit strange and comes from high down. I gave him too much time in the game and he likes that.”
“And when I tried to play faster, I made mistakes. I was very inaccurate. It was very bad.”
Goffin had no explanation for his failure. “This is really” un jour sans “, an offday,” he tried. “And the opponent was good again.”
“I never found a point to pull myself up during the race. I had trouble moving. We all know that the surface is often slippery here, the conditions are not easy, but I should have done better.”
What now? “I have to try to put this behind me. Such matches should not be allowed. I can lose, but not like this. The best thing now is to get back on the training track again soon. I know I shouldn’t worry to make.”
“Next week I will play in Lyon and I will try to get back into the rhythm immediately. I registered for the tournament after the postponement with a week of Roland Garros. Not playing for more than 2 weeks before the start of a grand slam tournament seemed me a lot. “
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