In a very exciting Belgian clash, David Goffin (ATP-58) has come out on top against Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (ATP-1185). Goffin won in three sets. Xavier Malisse pounced in the doubles.
Gilles-Arnaud Bailly started the match against his ‘dream draw’ Goffin. Bailly twice went through Goffin’s serve, but the latter managed to reverse the deficit each time. In the tenth game, Goffin shifted up a gear, getting two set points on Bailly’s serve but in vain. In an exciting tiebreak, Bailly let a set point slip, Goffin took full advantage: 7-6(7).
In the second set, Goffin went straight through Bailly’s serve. Both players kept each other in balance, but it was Bailly who did the forcing and went through Goffin’s serve 5-7. The third set remained very exciting, but Goffin let his experience speak for itself and the first match point was immediately the right one: 6-4. The match lasted a whopping 3 hours and 11 minutes.
Xavier Malisse bumped through to the next round in doubles. On Diego Schwartzman’s side, a tiebreak in the first set brought the decision against Klaasen/Melo: 6-7(4). In the second set, things were more difficult: the Belgian-Argentine duo edged a 4-2 deficit to 5-7.
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