Julien Benneteau fell to as low as No. 696 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last January. After one of the great wins of his career, that seems far away.
The Frenchman thrilled his raucous home crowd at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday, eliminating seventh seed David Goffin, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final since Shanghai in 2014.
And as special a moment it is for Benneteau, it is devastating for Goffin. The Belgian could have clinched his first berth in the Nitto ATP Finals by taking out the Frenchman. But instead, he will have to nervously await other results in Paris, with several possible London contenders still alive in the draw.
A match currently on court not only decides another quarter-finalist, but could guarantee Goffin’s London spot. If 17th-seeded Lucas Pouille falls to No. 16 Jack Sock, Goffin will qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, despite his loss.
Goffin competed in one match at the year-end finale last year as an alternate. He currently remains next in line to earn his spot at The O2.
Before the match, Goffin led his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Benneteau 1-0, having defeated him in the first round of this year’s US Open in four sets. Their only other meeting came at an ATP Challenger Tour event in 2011, which Benneteau won.
Benneteau will play the winner of third seed Marin Cilic and another London hopeful, No. 14-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour http://ift.tt/2z8R1DU
No comments:
Post a Comment