14th seed David Goffin was forced to retire mid-match against 23rd seed Roberto Bautista Agut due to illness. Goffin was leading two sets to one before quitting in the fifth game of the fourth set. Bautista Agut moves to the fourth round for the second straight season.
Goffin Gets Going Quickly
The match started quickly for the 14th-seeded Belgian as Goffin abused Bautista Agut's ground strokes. Goffin smacked several winners from the forehand side and converted the second break point he saw for a 1-0 lead. Goffin would seal a consolidation of the break with an ace on his serve for a clean 2-0 start. They would swap holds to 3-1 in Goffin's favor when the Belgian again used excellent returning and a spectacular forehand to secure a bonus break to 4-1. They would swap holds to close out the set 6-2 as Goffin nailed his fifth ace late in the final game to help gain the win. Goffin racked up 16 winners and won 80 percent of his first serve points. The 14th seed killed the Spaniard's second serve, winning nine of eleven points.
The Belgian Goes Up 2-0
The second set started roughly for the Spaniard. Bautista Agut's ground strokes let him down from both wings as a backhand sailed long on a second break point to hand Goffin the opening game. Bautista Agut was able to battle right back though, taking advantage of the Belgian's inability to land first serves. He attacked more off the ground and worked the break back onto serve at 1-1. Service holds were the name of the game, though to 5-4 in favor of the 23rd seed. Goffin would give him two looks at set points, but came up big to hold both to 5-5. Perhaps unnerved by failing to capitalize, Bautista Agut struggled on serve to give Goffin three break points. A huge backhand cross court from the Belgian would net the break and a chance to finish off the set. The 14th seed was crisp to close the set 7-5. Goffin landed just 43 percent of his first serves that allowed Bautista Agut to stay in the set. 13 unforced errors did not help, but Goffin came through with 22 winners with a lot of key ones coming down the stretch.
Bautista Agut Takes Advantage Of Goffin's Illness
There was little to separate the two to start the third set as both men were able to hold fairly comfortably on serve to 2-2. Goffin found himself having trouble finding his first serve against in the sixth game. That let Bautista Agut craft a couple of break points. A lucky net chord completing the back for a 4-2 lead for the 23rd seed. The Spaniard would hold quickly to 5-2 as Goffin then left the court for an extended bathroom break. Early in the set, he had received some sort of medication and it definitely appeared that he looked less than 100 percent physically. Bautista Agut would finish the set with an ace to get on the board with a 6-3 third set win. Goffin's first serve percentage was an atrocious 33 percent and he definitely had less pop on his ground strokes with only three winners. Bautista-Agut controlled the set on serve, winning 20 of 23 points.
The Beglian Throws In The Towel
Goffin still looked a shade worse for the wear, but was able to hold serve to open the set. In the third game, Goffin continues to feel the effects of whatever illness had a grip on him as the errors flowed off his racquet and his serve was poor. Bautista Agut broke for a 2-1 lead. He would consolidate to go up 3-1 as Goffin was barely able to make an effort to return his serve. That would be the final game played as the 14th seed walked to the net after a missed shot early in his service game and retired from the match due to illness. It was a tough ending for Goffin who looked absolutely brilliant for most of the first two sets before taking ill.
Bautista-Agut Gets Djokovic
The Spaniard's reward for surviving an ill opponent is the tournament's top seed Novak Djokovic. For Bautista-Agut, it will be his second trip to the fourth round at the US Open. Last year, he was crushed by Roger Federer in this round 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic leads the head-to-head with Bautista-Agut 2-0 with a pair of victories in Dubai in straight sets in 2013 and 2014.