David Goffin entered Roland Garros 2017 as one of the more successful players on year-to-date rankings. Heading into the third round, he appeared to have a very winnable match as he drew Horacio Zeballos.
The Argentine veteran has a clay-court title to his credit and a win over Rafael Nadal on dirt from the past, however, Zeballos had never made the third round of any major before Friday. Thanks to a bad break for Goffin, Zeballos will actually make his debut in the fourth round of a Grand Slam at this year's Roland Garros tournament.
Goffin fell during his match Friday
While leading 5-4 in the first set, Goffin was behind the baseline and making a scrambling attempt to retrieve a deep ball. So deep was the ball that Goffin actually had to move back to the very edge of the court where a clay-colored tarp sat, a tarp that would be used to cover the court in the event of rainy weather.
Goffin's right foot appeared to slide under the tarp, and he fell shortly after that. A moment later Goffin could be seen on Eurosport footage grimacing in pain. The point would end up being the last one that he would play at the 2017 french open. He loses a spot in the fourth round and a draw to the semifinals that was difficult, but negotiable for him.
Result reduces expectations
The result will certainly hurt Goffin's bid for a very high year-end ranking. Currently, he is No. 6 in year-to-date rankings. However, going out in the third round of a major is an unfortunate result for someone who could actually hope to finish top five. Goffin will receive just 90 ranking points for his result while his adversaries will still be in the hunt for the huge ranking points that go to the players that make the tournament's very late rounds.
As unfortunate as the accident was, it's still possible to look at who benefits. Clearly, Zeballos did, even if he would have preferred to have earned his spot in the fourth round the old-fashioned way. As it is he has gifted a victory in a match that he was very likely to lose. Additionally, Zeballos will arrive in the fourth round as a well-rested player due to the short length of his match against Goffin.
That may give the Argentine a fighting chance in future rounds.
However, the Argentine is also an easier out than Goffin. Dominic Thiem, one of the favorites to win the 2017 French Open, lost to Goffin several weeks ago in a Masters Series clay-court event. If the Austrian gets passed Steve Johnson in the third round, then Thiem will be that one that faces Zeballos. The Austrian, who beat Rafael Nadal in Rome, would then be looking at advancing to a blockbuster quarterfinal through Zeballos, one that might be against defending champion, Novak Djokovic.
