TipResumen

PREVIEW

The shoulder injury suffered by David Goffin in the Cincinnati Semi Final looks to be behind him although one win at the US Open hasn't erased all my doubts about him. The last couple of years has seen Goffin pick up some injuries at really bad times but I still think he is capable of a deep run at the US Open as long as he is not feeling any soreness out of the First Round win. The win over Federico Gaio was a little more difficult towards the back end than it had begun for Goffin, but ultimately he will be glad to have moved through to the Second Round in straight sets. The Belgian has produced some very good numbers on the hard court in 2018 which makes him a threat here, although the feeling is that Goffin will eventually run into someone who is a little too good for him. I am not sure that will happen on Thursday as Robin Haase was forced to dig deep and come from 2-0 down in sets to win his First Round match. Haase's opponent McKenzie McDonald wilted towards the end of the match in some terrible conditions, but Haase still had to be out there and that would have taken something out of the tank. It is David Goffin who has the slightly superior numbers when it comes to the serve and return on the hard courts too which only makes it even more difficult to imagine Haase beating him unless Goffin is not at 100%. However Haase could point to the 2-0 lead in sets he had at the French Open earlier in 2018 against Goffin before he completely lost his way in the match and perhaps the Dutchman believes he can hold himself together much better if he gets into that position again. Ultimately this has proven to be a tough match up for Haase with Goffin able to get plenty of balls back in play and break down his game. There have been some close matches between them including that match at the French Open, but Goffin should have the slight edge in most aspects of this match and also had less time on the court in the heat of Tuesday. All of those things factoring together makes me believe Goffin has too much for Haase and he should be able to cover this number even if he is forced to go four sets.



PREDICTION

I will look for David Goffin to be too strong at the key moments and beat Robin Haase while covering this number.