Davd Goffin Stripped of Belgian Number One Status

The press had made a big deal of it in recent days: if he did not pass the first two rounds of the BW Open, David Goffin (ATP 112) would lose his status as Belgian number one after more than ten seasons.

Defeated late on Thursday evening by the surprising but no less talented Abdullah Shelbayh (6-3, 6-4), the Liégeois is therefore stripped of his throne. A seat that he has occupied continuously since July 22, 2013, when he gained the upper hand over Xavier Malisse.

Of course, losing your place as Belgian number one after such longevity is an unprecedented event. But let’s make no mistake. Isn’t this honorary status ultimately anecdotal in view of his situation? “I prefer to be eighth Belgian and twentieth in the world than number one Belgian and one hundred and twentieth in the world,” underlined the 33-year-old on Tuesday, after his victory in the first round of the Louvain-la-Neuve Challenger against Zizou Bergs.

Very clearly, whether Goffin is the Belgian number one or number two will have no impact on his performances. This decline, however, has other, much more unfortunate consequences. On Monday, the native of Rocourt will be at best 133rd in the ATP. The last time he had held such a remote position was March 19, 2012. A lease.

With this new tumble of 21 places, without counting one or the other player who can still rise again depending on their results by the end of the weekend, Goffin is therefore pushed back around fifty places from his objective of the first semester: qualification for Paris 2024. To be part of the trip, he must be around the top 80.

Goffin has 145 points to defend between now and June 10.

“The month of January is already crucial,” we wrote in our January 2 edition. With a quarter-final in Canberra, a first round at the Australian Open (after getting out of qualifying) and a second round at the BW Open, the balance sheet is not good. Which also explains this new drop in the world rankings.

The Belgian’s advantage is that between now and June 10, the date of the ranking taken into account to finalize the list of Olympic qualifiers, he no longer has 145 points to defend according to his file on the official website of the Olympic Games. ATP.

There is hope, especially since he has chosen to compete in the qualifications in Marseille from next Sunday February 4 before continuing with those in Rotterdam. If he succeeds in entering the main draws of his two ATP 250 tournaments, which earn more points than the rounds of the Challenger circuit, we could quickly see him move up the rankings. Two problems: he will each time face a seeded player in the first round of these qualifiers and although he assures that his basic game is better, this has not been reflected in his latest results. Thursday, at the Blocry sports complex, he again sinned in terms of chances (only one break point converted out of nine).

Before starting the season on clay, the surface that suits him best, there is urgency for the right-hander. Luckily, it’s still only January. Or not.

Exclusive meeting with Abdullah Shelbayh, the Jordanian who deprived David Goffin of his status as Belgian number 1: “I didn’t know, I’m sorry”
2024-01-27 07:00:00
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