By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, March 17, 2016
Goffin staved off 11 of 12 break points, including four set points in the 12th game, dispatching Marin Cilic, 7-6 (4), 6-2, to reach his first career Masters 1000 semifinal at Indian Wells.
Photo credit: Michael Cummo/BNP Paribas Open
A stubborn David Goffin played shrewd denial tennis to attain a Masters milestone.
Goffin staved off 11 of 12 break points, including four set points in the 12th game, dispatching Marin Cilic, 7-6 (4), 6-2, to reach his first career Masters 1000 semifinal at Indian Wells.
More: Federer Will Play Miami Open
"The first set was a great battle," Goffin told ESPN's Pam Shriver. "He served really well in the first set. It was tough to stay focused until the end of the first set. I had the break at 5-4; it's always tough to finish the set."
The 10th-seeded Cilic dropped to 0-8 lifetime in Masters quarterfinals.
"It was a tough tie break with a lot of intensity, but in the end I was happy to win the set," Goffin said. "And it was much better in the second set."
Contesting his 20th career Masters event, Goffin has scored successive wins over a pair of Grand Slam champions—he toppled reigning Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka in a three-set thriller yesterday before downing Cilic today—to put himself one win from his first Masters final.
The 15th-seeded Belgian will play either 12th-seeded Milos Raonic or 13th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils for a spot in the Indian Wells final. Goffin beat Raonic in their lone prior meeting at the 2014 Basel quarterfinals; he has not played Monfils on the ATP Tour.
Eleven days ago, Goffin defeated Cilic on the red clay of Liege in Davis Cup. The pair encountered dramatically different conditions in the desert heat today.
The two-handed backhand is Goffin's most stable and versatile shot. Taking a two-handed return up near his shoulders, he rapped a return down the line for his first break point. Neutralizing a Cilic serve with another early backhand return, Goffin slid another backhand down the line breaking for 5-4.
The 2014 US Open champion gained three break points in the ensuing game. Goffin denied them all, flicking a forehand crosscourt to erase the seventh break point of the set. Goffin tripped a forehand off the tape to face another break point.
Retreating to hit a forehand, Goffin's feet got tangled up, he tumbled to the court and Cilic spun a shot into the open court finally breaking for 5-5. That would be the last time Cilic cracked the slender Belgian's serve.
Rushing through his serve game, Goffin double-faulted then sprayed a ball to face double set point. Goffin erased both, then saved two more set points, ratcheting up Cilic's frustration level considerably. By then, Goffin had fought off 11 of 12 break points forcing the tie breaker after 54 minutes of play.
Cilic, who was playing with a strained right knee and looked drained from his three-set win over Richard Gasquet yesterday, struggled to get up to the ball quickly on his return.
Spinning in his serve, Goffin hit an inside-out forehand winner for set point. He pounced on a shanked return and slid a forehand winner down the line to take a one-set lead.
Playing with taping wrapping his right knee, Cilic was not as explosive moving to his forehand side as the match progressed in sticky heat. Still, the 10th-seeded Croatian staved off three break points in the fourth game, dotting the T with an ace on the third, eventually holding for 2-all.
Two games later, Cilic mis-hit a forehand to face another triple break point jam. Over-hitting on a second serve, Cilic spit up his first double fault to donate the break and a 4-2 lead.
Slashing his seventh ace down the middle, Goffin extended the lead to 5-2.
Changing direction brilliantly, particularly off his backhand, Goffin closed a one hour, 37-minute victory with a backhand down the line, raising his record to 12-4 on the season.