In what was a nailbiting encounter, career Grand Slam winner Roger Federer defeated David Goffin of Belgium 7-6 6-4. This win sees Federer book his place in the quarter-finals of the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters event.
“I never really felt like I had the upper hand over David today,” a relieved Federer explained. “I thought he did a really good job. He was so much better than at the US Open.”
The first set saw the match get off to a tense start with neither player looking likely to lose their focus. This theme continued for the rest of the set, as both players successfully held onto their service games. Ultimately, it was Federer who the set through a 9-7 win in the tiebreaker.
It was about halfway through the second set when Goffin became the first player whose concentration began to waiver. This lapse in focus allowed Federer to break his service and gain a 4-3 lead. From that moment on, Federer was able to successfully hold onto each of his subsequent service games to see out the second set 6-4 and therefore wrap up the match.
This is Federer’s 87th appearance in the final eight of an ATP Masters 1000 event.
