David Goffin drafted in Astana and faces world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the first round

Beaten in the second qualifying round of the Kazakh tournament by the Italian Luca Nardi, David Goffin is finally well and truly entered in the final draw in Astana (ATP 500). The Liègeois was drafted as a “lucky loser”, he will face world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the first round. The two men met once, in early 2021 in Melbourne.

The Belgian, 14th in the world at the time, broke his teeth against the Spaniard, losing a double 6-3. Unusual fact, the native of El Palmar had become at 17 the youngest player to beat a world Top 15 since Richard Gasquet in 2004 who had dismissed Nicolas Massu (ATP 14). Ranked “only” 146th in the world, the tennis world barely discovered it.

To join the main draw of the Astana Open, Goffin, 66th at the ATP, took advantage of Holger Rune’s package (ATP 26). The Dane preferred to give up after losing the final of the Sofia tournament no later than this Sunday against the Swiss Marc-Adndrea Huesler (ATP 64). .