David Goffin survived a first set loss against Sergiy Stakhovsky and won the next three sets to win the first match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Show Court Two during Day 1 of the Australian Open. The Belgian found his game after a rusty first set. He advanced to the second round and will face the Damir Dzumhur.
Stakhovsky dominates in the first set
Both players haven’t faced each other in an ATP tournament. In the first, Stakhovsky didn’t waste any time to break the 15th seed during the second game of the set. After getting the score back to 30-all, Goffin hit a forehand error to give the Ukrainian an early break point. Stakhovksky would capitalize the break with a backhand winner after an exchange of volleys near the net. The Ukrainian consolidated the break at love in the next game.
The world number 62 got off to a fast start while Goffin appeared to be struggling during his service games. He dumped plenty of shots into the net, trying to hit a passing shot against Stakhovsky, who came to net a lot. Down 2-4, Goffin got three break point opportunities. The Ukrainian saved two of them but couldn’t find his serve as he double faulted to give the early break back.
However, it didn’t last long as the Ukranian got the break again in Goffin’s next service game. Down 15-30, Goffin dumped a forehand into the net to give Stakhovsky two break points. The Belgian then hit a double-fault to give the break back. In the next game with Stakhovsky serving for the set, Goffin didn’t make it easy for the Ukrainian to close it out. After dumping a forehand into the net, Goffin got a break point. But Stakhovsky would hit a backhand winner to save the point. With the advantage at deuce, Ukrainian served an ace to close the set out in 30 minutes.
Stakhovsky was dominant in the first hitting nine winners while Goffin only hit two. The Ukranian won 10 of 11 net points and 88 percent of the first serves he hit, telling how Goffin was struggling to return. Meanwhile, the Belgian didn’t come forward to net often and only won 57 percent of the first serves he hit, telling how he struggled in his service games.
Goffin battles back in the second and third set to take the lead
In the second set down 1-2, Stakhovsky dumped a volley into the net to give Goffin two break points. The Ukrainian then dumped another forehand into the net to give Goffin the early break. After consolidating the break, Goffin would go up 5-1 after breaking the Ukrainian for the second time. However, Stakovsky wouldn’t go out easily, breaking Goffin when he was serving for the set. After a Stakovsky hold and still up a break, Goffin had another opportunity to serve for the set. He got the job done closing the set comfortably at 40-15.
Stakhovsky only won 50 percent of his first serves, an enormous drop from the first, which indicated that Goffin’s return game was improving while the Ukrainian’s return game dipped as Goffin saw the rise of his first serves won percentage. Stakhovsky didn’t also get a lot of first serves in, only putting 46 percent of his first serves in. Both hit six winners, but the Ukrainian hit 15 unforced errors compared to the five of Goffin.
In the third set, both players would exchange four service breaks after both held serve in the first three games. Goffin was starting to get some passing shots in, making the Ukrainian uncomfortable in the net. The Belgian was more confident in hitting those passing shots compared to the first two sets. Meanwhile, Stakhovsky’s forehand continued to be a problem for him as he hit plenty of unforced errors on that side.
After finally holding their service games and the set tied 4-all, Goffin put the pressure back on the Ukrainian’s serve after forcing deuce down 15-40. The Belgian then hit a backhand winner with a lot of angle to get the break point. He followed it with a great return that Stakhovsky tried to volley, but the ball was too low to get it across the net. Goffin earned the decisive break in the set. The Belgian would not waste the break, serving out the set at love to go up two sets to one.
With Goffin hitting more passing shots in the set, Stakhovsky only won 13 net points in 29 tries. He continued to hit more unforced errors than Goffin – 15 unforced errors compared to seven of the Belgian. Goffin continued to serve well, winning 74 percent of the first serves he put in play.
Goffin gets the early break, seals the match
Before the start of the fourth set, Stakhovsky took a medical timeout while he was in the locker room. When play resumed, Goffin didn’t waste any time, breaking Stakhovsky in the first game of the set. The Ukrainian hit back-to-back forehand error to give the early break to Goffin. The forehand has been the weakness for Stakhovsky, which the Belgian continued to target. After the early break, both players held their service games comfortably. Goffin didn’t let go of the break as he closed out the set and the match with a serve and volley in the 10th game of the fourth set.
A look at the final match statistics – Goffin put 64 percent of his first serves in play, winning 73 percent while Stakhovsky only got 56 percent of his first serves in, winning 67 percent. The Belgian hit 27 winners, 28 unforced errors while Ukrainian hit 29 winners, 47 unforced errors.