Malisse bows to Goffin in round one
Japan’s Sugita packs off Belgian Rochus early
On a day when the local flavour was almost missing and hence the buzz, the battle of the Belgians lit up the atmosphere at the Chennai Open here on Tuesday.
David Goffin, at 21, looks younger than his age and the little-built wild-card entrant was taking baby steps as a tennis player when his more famous countryman, Xavier Malisse, was making a name for himself on the men’s Tour. In their first meeting ever at any level, the older Belgian appeared to have the match in his sights but Goffin’s resolve and tenacity proved a touch too much as Malisse, in discomfort physically after bagging the opening set, suffered a 6-4, 2-6, 3-6 defeat on another thinly attended evening.
It wasn’t a good day for the seeded Belgians. Much before Malisse, the finalist of the previous edition, crashed out, Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita had stunned ninth seed Olivier Rochus in straight sets on Court 1. Sugita, who had beaten Somdev Devvarman during last year’s Davis Cup tie, upset his fancied opponent 6-3, 6-4 to move into the second round. Sixth-seeded Fabio Fagnini was the first seeded player to fall on Monday’s opening day.
Malisse, looking not so amused with the support for his younger compatriot, was always in control of the first set despite Goffin’s relentlessness. With boundless energy and agility to match, Goffin retrieved everything that was thrown at him and came up with some of his own to test his experienced rival. “I don’t know why,” remarked Goffin when asked about his popularity. “But I had some great support out there. It was a pleasant surprise and I liked it. Hope it continues.”
Capitalising on some unforced errors, Malisse earned three break points in the fifth game before he sealed it with a forehand winner to go 3-2 up. Goffin had a chance to break back in the next game when he produced a stunning cross-court winner at deuce. Malisse, however, neutralised the advantage with an ace. He then came up with a service and a forehand winner to take 4-2 lead. It wasn’t long before the world number 49 closed out the set.
Goffin turned the script around in the second even as Malisse complained of some uneasiness but he carried on with the game. “I think he had some stomach problem, maybe it had to do with something he ate yesterday,” said Goffin. Malisse wasn’t the same and Goffin made full use of the opportunity to score the biggest win of his career yet. “It was a good win nevertheless because even if he was sick, he was playing really well and hitting the ball real hard. I just kept my focus going despite losing the first set and I am happy I converted my chances later,” Goffin noted, pointing out that he has never ever played with or against Malisse despite coming from the same country. “I had just seen him on TV and was a big fan of him growing up.”
Edouard Roger-Vasselin was the other player to make the most of the opportunity. Having made it to the main draw after the top-ranked Indian Somdev Devvarman pulled out due to shoulder injury, the lucky loser prevailed over fellow Frenchman Eric Prodon 6-4, 6-3 to set-up a clash with defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka.
Results (singles first round, prefix denotes seeding): Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Esp) bt Eric Prodon (Fra) 6-4, 6-3; Yuichi Sugita (Jap) bt 8-Olivier Rochus (Bel) 6-3, 6-4; Victor Hanescu (Rom) bt Sam Querrey (USA) 6-3, 6-4; Yen-Hsun Lu (Tai) bt Thiemo de Bakker (Ned) 6-3, 6-3; Andreas Beck (Ger) bt Vasek Pospisil (Can) 6-3, 7-6 (10-8); David Goffin (Bel) bt 8-Xavier Malisse (Bel) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
