David Goffin, 35, is ending a 17-year career in Brussels, at the European Open, from 19 to 25 October. I read that on the 7:32 train, and one thing stopped me: his last tournament starts with a doubles match.
Silly question, but don’t you save the best for last? He was world number 7, he won six titles, he beat Nadal and Federer in the same tournament in 2017 to reach the final of the ATP Finals. And to say goodbye, he starts as a pair. With Raphaël Collignon, from Liège like him, both of them given wildcards.
I asked the newsroom why the doubles was going first. Nobody could tell me whether it was on purpose. I checked, and actually nobody knows.
What I like is the time. The match is on centre court, “not before 5 p.m.”, after Alex Michelsen against Andrea Guerrieri. Not before. You don’t know when, you only know when it isn’t. It’s a bit like “à tantôt”, the Belgian “see you later” that I waited an hour for last week.
On the other side of the net, Marc Polmans and Jan Zielinski, seeded number 3. Goffin said he hoped to “share a memorable farewell with the supporters”. Sharing, in doubles, makes sense: there are already two of them.
Doubles is where you see the patterns. Me on Sundays, that’s where I start too.
He also plays singles against Rémy Bertola, a lucky loser from qualifying. I looked it up: you lose, and that’s the lucky part. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: Tennis Actu.
