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Roger Federer celebrates after defeating David Goffin in straight sets.
Roger Federer celebrates after defeating David Goffin in straight sets. Photograph: Michael Owens/Getty Images
Roger Federer celebrates after defeating David Goffin in straight sets. Photograph: Michael Owens/Getty Images

Roger Federer strolls past David Goffin to reach US Open last eight

This article is more than 4 years old

Federer beats the Belgian 6-2, 6-2, 6-0
Swiss into his 56th grand slam quarter-final

It is possible that David Goffin is the biggest Roger Federer fan in the entire sport of tennis, so big that he rose through the rankings wearing Federer’s outfits and adorned his walls with Federer posters. Throughout their 10 meetings, even after one win in 2017, he has never seemed to be able to consistently stare down the 20-time grand slam champion as an equal. Sunday afternoon produced more of the same as Federer demolished Goffin 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in just 79 minutes to move into the US Open quarter-finals.

“Sometimes these scores just happen,” said Federer, shrugging after reaching a record-extending 56th quarter-final. “I found my groove after a while and was able to roll really. Never looked back. David wasn’t nearly as good as I expected him to be.”

After losing the first set in both of his early matches against qualifier Sumit Nagal and Damir Dzumhur, Federer does seem to be finding his groove and dispelling the rust that had encased his game after his harrowing defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. The victory marked the second consecutive match where Federer dropped fewer than five games.

Goffin stands at a small, slender 5ft 11in in a sport filled with giants. Whenever he is asked about how he manages to compete against such intimidating athletic forces, he says that he can intimidate them with his game. On Sunday afternoon, he carried no such delusions. Under the pressure of the occasion and the opponent he adores, he simply could not play.

“Sometimes you’re like, ‘OK, I’m feeling maybe ready now to make a good match against him, try to make some good things on the court’,” said Goffin. “But as soon as you are there, first match on Ashe against him, you can feel all the 20,000 people are behind him as soon as he hit the ball. All of a sudden every shot is 10 times tougher than usual.”

The topic of the day remains the emotional contest between Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, which Federer watched during dinner with his family with the sound on mute. When he saw the pair talking to one another, he attempted to turn up the volume, only to encounter a relatable problem: the battery in the remote control was dead. Federer hailed the occasion as good news for the sport, but he admitted that he was satisfied to have not been a prodigy at such a young age.

“I’m happy that I lived under the radar for long enough so I could grow more as a person,” he said. “But in a way it would have been incredibly exhilarating also living the life that Coco has now, or others who’ve made the break on the tour at 14, 15, 16, or even earlier like Tiger [Woods], or [Martina] Hingis, an example in Switzerland. You knew she was probably going to be world No 1 at some stage when she was 10. How is that even possible?”

Federer will face Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals, a former top-five player who has made a surprise run in New York during one of the worst seasons of his career. Dimitrov, now ranked 78th, also idolised Federer and modelled his game on the legend. Goffin can find great comfort in the fact that Dimitrov has only ever managed to win two sets in seven meetings with his idol.

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