At 33 years old and now ranked world No.107, David Goffin, a four-time major quarterfinalist, is looking to successfully qualify for a Grand Slam for the very first time in his career.
The Belgian took the important first step on Tuesday at Australian Open 2024 with a 6-4 7-5 win over Italian Stefano Travaglia on Kia Arena.
RESULTS: Australian Open 2024 qualifying first round
WOMEN'S QUALIFYING: Fruhvirtova, Bejlek lead youngsters into round two
Also advancing were doubles champion Pierre-Hugues Herbert and American Denis Kudla, who upset former world No.8 Diego Schwartzman, while Jules Marie's inspiring journey continued with his triumph over Benoit Paire.
Former world No.7 Goffin is undeterred by taking the long road to a 42nd major appearance, having played much of his 2023 season on the ATP Challenger level, one rung below the main tour.
“I feel that I have that fire inside; I'm happy to work, happy to improve both my fitness and [my] tennis,” he told ausopen.com after his win over Travaglia. “I'm happy where I am in the moment.”
He hit eight aces and clocked 15 winners against Travaglia, who helped Goffin’s cause with 42 unforced errors in the one-hour, 35-minute affair. He’ll next meet Billy Harris of Great Britain, the world No.199.
DRAW: Australian Open 2024 men's singles qualifying
“The goal is to win two more matches this week and try to go back to the top 100,” Goffin said. “I'm working for that, and hopefully - match after match - I will gain some confidence and go back higher in the rankings.”
Goffin has three times made the final round of qualifying, but never successfully won through. At Roland Garros 2012 he was a lucky loser, earning a ticket for his first major and eventually advancing to the fourth round, where he lost to Roger Federer.
Goffin broke into the top 50 that year and then spent the majority of 2014 to 2021 inside the world’s top 20, winning six ATP titles and reaching the ATP Finals championship tilt in 2017.
It was in 2017 that Goffin had his best run at Melbourne Park as the 11th seed, upsetting No.8 Dominic Thiem en route to the final eight where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. He owns a 13-9 record in the AO main draw.
A variety of hurdles sent him tumbling out of the top 100 last year, including illness at the Australian Open and a knee injury that put him out for part of the season.
“I want to go back to a high level of tennis. I know that I still have it in my racket,” he said.
“I love to play tennis. I love to push myself during practice. I like the feeling I have during practice, and hopefully it's just a matter of time before I produce it during a match.”
Herbert survives
Across the grounds from Kia Arena, another comeback story was unfolding on Court 3.
France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the former world No.2 in doubles, needed three hours and 14 minutes – and a fist full of match points – to overcome Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga, 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 6-3.
“It means so much to me,” a breathless Herbert, 32, told AO commentator Jill Craybas on court. “I flew here on Friday being four (spots) out and I didn't know if I could play the qualifying here.”
Herbert, ranked No.237, was referring to the qualifying “cut”, and needed several injured players to withdraw.
They did, allowing him to sneak into the draw and make a step towards his first AO since 2021.
“I'm so happy to be back playing at the Australian Open; it's been three years,” said Herbert, who suffered a devastating knee injury in mid-2022 that put him out for seven months.
He played in fits and spurts last year, the former world No.36 in singles falling out of the top 400.
He was in danger of being one-and-done in Melbourne on Tuesday, leading Burruchaga by a set and 5-1 in the second and earning four match points across the remainder of the second, squandering them all.
With over two hours on the clock, Burruchaga forced a deciding set after a tiebreak, a boisterous crowd in favour of the Frenchman briefly silenced.
But Herbert would roar back, eventually hitting 50 winners in total and putting pressure on the Argentine with 73 net approaches, winning 52 of those attempts. The total points won underlined just how close the match was: Herbert 131, Burruchaga 130.
“It (was) a lot of tension; I want to do good, I want to play well,” Herbert said. “I couldn't finish the match in the second set, it was crazy. He didn't give it to me. It was so hard. (But) I tried to keep cool.
“(I’m) really happy with the win.”
Elsewhere...
It was a banner day in qualifying for the Belgian men, with Goffin’s compatriots Zizou Bergs and Joris De Loore both recording wins.
Former world No.23 Damir Dzumhur was also a winner, needing three sets to beat Timofey Skatov 4-6 6-3 6-3.
In an all-French battle, YouTube star Marie took out former world No.18 Paire 7-6(6) 6-4, winning the final five games of the match.
AUSSIES AT THE OPEN: Seven advance in qualifying
The 30-year-old Marie has been documenting his tennis adventures on his channel since 2019, having stepped away from the game for a prolonged period in late 2015. He has over 100,000 subscribers.
2019 AO boys' runner-up Emilio Nava of the U.S. beat Italian No.21 seed Luciano Darderi 7-6(3) 6-4.
Schwartzman, meanwhile, held a set point in the opening set but squandered it, falling in straight sets to Kudla 7-6(7) 6-4 to close the day on Court 3.