Belgian winds back the clock in swansong campaign
Full-circle moments don’t always appear as vividly as that which David Goffin experienced when he walked nervously onto a packed Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Monday.
Inside this arena in 2012, a wide-eyed and wiry Goffin – a late addition to the main draw as a lucky loser – took a set off Roger Federer and left his idol mighty impressed after losing their fourth-round encounter on his Grand Slam debut.
In his swansong 14th campaign in Paris, in the opening round of Roland-Garros 2026 qualifying on Monday, the now 35-year-old wound back the clock to down 2018 junior champion Tseng Chun-Hsin 6-3, 6-1.
The nerves were as intense as the first time he played on this court.
“Today, everything was there – the level was there, the emotion was there,” Goffin told rolandgarros.com. “It was not easy at the beginning of the match when I heard my name, when I stepped on the court. I already felt my heartbeat getting a bit higher. At the end I played really well and the speech at the end was a lot of emotions.
“It was an amazing moment for me, something that I've never felt on the court in my career.”
Chants of “David, David!” echoed out under the closed Lenglen roof, Belgian flags and wigs dotted throughout the crowd, which included four-time major champion and compatriot Kim Clijsters.
The emotions that bubbled to the surface as he steadily composed himself to address the crowd in triumph were the result of a trying period. Injuries and depleted self-belief this season had weighed heavily and contributed to his decision to call time on his career.
“It was something special to play again on that court because it's a court that in 2012 I played my first match against Roger Federer and it was a big boost in my career,” he said.
“After that, I felt that it gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of my career. To finish again, to play the qualies again, it's funny because I told my coach the last time I played the qualies here I ended up playing the fourth round against Roger.
“Roger is not here anymore but we play match after match and I'm happy that I have another match.”
After Federer – at the time a 16-time major winner – ended his unlikely run in 2012, the Swiss was glowing in his endorsement of the young Belgian’s potential.
“I think he can go very far, but it's week-in, week-out, different surfaces and different match-ups. Who knows? Maybe I match up well for him, maybe I don't,” Federer said at the time. “I still haven't seen him enough. He's very talented. I hope he can make it to the top 20.”
The only Belgian man to have ranked in the top 10, he peaked at world No.7 following arguably his greatest run at the ATP Finals in 2017 when he defeated Dominic Thiem and the world’s top two, Rafael Nadal and Federer, before he succumbed to Grigor Dimitrov in the final.
Goffin, who faces British 23-year-old Toby Samuel next, well and truly exceeded the benchmark Federer hoped he would reach.
“I think I gave everything to raise my potential at the highest and I think that was the case,” he said.
“I think physically and especially like around 2017-2018, when I was top 10, when I played also the Davis Cup [final] at the end, I think it was the best level I've ever played at the end of the year, and the ATP Finals.”
“At that moment, I think it was the prime of my career. The potential I had, I worked for that and to reach that level, I think it was the best me.”
In a career in which he reached the quarterfinals at three of the four majors, steered Belgium to the Davis Cup final twice and beat the reigning world No.1 three times – Alcaraz in 2022 and Nadal in 2017 and 2020 – Goffin preferred to be recalled less for his accomplishments than his attributes.
“I want to be remembered like a nice guy on and off the court and of course the way I was playing like not the big guy with big groundstrokes but with the speed, someone who took the ball early, like an aggressive player and nice to watch,” he said.
“So if people remember me like that, it will be OK.”
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
