Goffin beats Thiem, sets up semis clash with Fed

London, November 17

David Goffin recovered from a slow start to beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-1 on Friday and set up a Last Four clash with Roger Federer at the ATP Finals. 

Belgian Goffin, thrashed by Grigor Dimitrov two days ago, appeared to be feeling the effects of that mauling as he went 3-0 down with a whimper, but came alive to win 15 points in a row during a first-set comeback.

Thiem looked disinterested at the start of the second set and quickly went 4-1 down. There was some brief resistance in a 10-minute sixth game but Goffin held and claimed victory on his second match point with a searing backhand winner.

A scrappy contest saw Thiem rack up 27 unforced errors to Goffin’s 20, with the combined winner count only 21. Goffin’s victory means three of the four players who had qualified for the elite tournament for the first time have progressed from the round-robin stage. The other semi-final will pit Dimitrov against American Jack Sock.

Bryan bros lose

Alternates Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic made the most of their first team appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals when they defeated four-time former champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (6-4 6-4) in Group Woodbridge/Woodforde.

Sock downs Zverev 

Jack Sock booked a place in the semifinals of the ATP Finals with a surprise 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 win over German prodigy Alexander Zverev. Sock is the first American to reach the semifinals of the season-ending event since Andy Roddick in 2007. — Agencies