Goffin sets up Federer semi at ATP Finals

David Goffin pummelled his good friend Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the ATP Finals yesterday, where he will have the daunting task of facing Roger Federer.
The Belgian, who was soundly beaten in his previous round-robin match by group winner Grigor Dimitrov, had a shaky start, losing the first three games, but lost only two games after that in the entire match as he romped to victory in 71 minutes.
“It was a pity to play against Dominic, he is such a good friend and a nice guy. It’s never easy to play against a friend,” said Goffin, who beat world number one Rafael Nadal over three punishing sets in his opening match.
“After the first match against Rafael I wasted so much energy, I was not ready for Grigor, but I had a good rest yesterday and was ready for today and I hope I can do the same for the semi-finals,” he added.
The seventh seed admitted Federer, gunning for his seventh end-of-year title, would be a tough opponent on the indoor hard court at London’s O2 Arena but said he had “nothing to lose”.
Goffin, 26, looked out of sorts at the start of the match, being broken to love in his first service game, but reeled off 15 points in a row to change the complexion of the match completely.
Two breaks of serve were enough to seal the set 6-4.
Thiem held up Goffin’s charge, receiving medical treatment for an apparent cut on his left knee between sets, but the Belgian was quickly into his stride again, reeling off six games in a row to win the set 6-1 and seal an emphatic win.
Austria’s fourth-seeded Thiem struggled badly on serve throughout, managing to land just 39 % of first serves in the second set as his opponent and regular practice partner took full advantage.
The pair were playing off for the last semi-final spot after Federer, Dimitrov and Jack Sock sealed their places earlier in the week.
Up against Federer, Goffin was not full of confidence about his chances at London’s O2 Arena.
“I’ve never found a key to beat Roger,” said the seventh seed. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do tomorrow. But I’m going to try something, something different, something that I’ve never done in the past.”
The Belgian has never beaten 19-time Grand Slam champion Federer in six matches and most recently clashed with him in Basel last month, where he won just three games in a one-sided contest.
“I will try to do my best to play a better match than in Basel, for sure,” he told reporters at his post-match press conference.
“In Basel it was not easy. He played well. He didn’t miss. He was really aggressive, as always. He returned so well. So it was not easy in Basel.
“I hope that tomorrow he’s not going to play the same match. But I will try something different for sure.”
The 26-year-old said he would have to change his gameplan from the one he used against Nadal earlier in the week as he was facing six-time winner Federer on one of his favoured surfaces.
“Against Roger, on his best surface, it’s indoor,” said Goffin. “It’s this surface, along with the grass. There is no wind. It’s tough to play higher, to find the loop when you play here on this kind of surface.
“It’s not easy. It’s perfect for Roger. But I will try, like I said, to do my best tomorrow to find some solutions, try to play my game, yeah, be aggressive. If he’s aggressive and he hits the ball really hard with his forehand, he’s dangerous.”