When David Goffin was asked about how he would overcome the stiff challenge of Roger Federer in the semi finals, he had conceded that he had ‘no idea how’.
And frankly none of us did.
Federer hadn’t been at his best all week, but had found a way to scrape through his challengers. And when the semi final line up was finalised, it looked like Federer would cruise through and end the year on a high. But a determined(though initially clueless) Goffin had other ideas.
The first set panned out just as expected, with Federer breezing through Goffin, not giving him even a sniff.
And just as we were preparing to witness another set of Federer dominance, Goffin found his feet, and with some conviction.
Federer was ‘schooled’ in the second set, and just couldn’t recover in the 3rd, as Goffin was unleashing his groundstrokes to perfection, much to the surprise of all onlookers.
Goffin would be vying for the title on Sunday, and will now await the winner of Sock vs Dimitrov.
This is how Twitter reacted:
https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/931915360596619265
https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/931915994615963649
Well, It's over. Only Roger Federer can have a year like this at 36 and leave us feeling like he could have done more.
May 2018 be even better.
— Jonathan Shifman (@Servolley_JS) November 18, 2017
Year end top 2
1. Rafael Nadal, 10.645
2. Roger Federer, 9.605— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 18, 2017
Federer: I would prefer to play Goffin in the SF
Goffin: pic.twitter.com/aCPREtABmC— Shego (@LadyBellatrix) November 18, 2017
The word "intimidating" has been used in relation with Serena at least 320,000 times, but I can't think of anyone who approaches matches against her the way some players, like Goffin, do when up against Federer and co.
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/TheSportsman/status/931895560210210816
World Tour Finals:
2016 Djokovic def. Goffin 6-1 6-2
2017 Goffin def. Nadal 7-6 6-7 6-4
2017 Goffin def. Federer 2-6 6-3 6-4I won't say anything else. pic.twitter.com/fE0okLVt2H
— J (@Certinfy) November 18, 2017
When you turn on the TV just in time to see David Goffin win match point against Roger Federer. #ATPWorldTourFinals pic.twitter.com/lHoT55S4hf
— Tennis Nerd Podcast (@TennisNerdPod) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/Dimonator/status/931924557010698240
https://twitter.com/Dimonator/status/931915195072548864
MEDIA: Federer is a lock for this tournament.
GOFFIN: pic.twitter.com/UgiQDd77KY— Shego (@LadyBellatrix) November 18, 2017
