Goffin, 35, who was ranked 657th, said goodbye on Wednesday coming from 3-0 down in the deciding set to beat Swiss lucky Remy Bertola 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The victory marked his 16th consecutive season with at least one win at the tour level. There was no second escape against Michelsen.
After the match, Goffin broke down in tears as the tournament played a tribute video featuring Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Lucas Pouille and his family.
“I am relaxed, at peace with myself and very happy with what I experienced this week in Brussels.” Goffin told RTBF. “The crowd came out and I got some pretty good vibes. I was nervous before the start of the week because I really wanted to play some good tennis one last time. I think I did it. It wasn’t a given a few weeks ago, but I did my best to make it happen this way. I really enjoyed it, so I’m leaving calm and relaxed.”
Asked to sum up his 18-year career, he chose one word. “It went by so fast. The emotions come the most, but also the people I’ve met and the moments we’ve shared.”
Farewell to Nadal and his family
He leaves with a record that no Belgian has come close to. Goffin was the first Belgian to reach the top 10, qualify for the ATP Finals, beat the world No. 1 and reach the Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati 2019. He was seeded 7th in 2017, a season in which he beat Nadal and Roger Federer en route to the ATP Finals.
He holds the Belgian men’s records for wins (358), titles (six) and tour-level quarter-finals (64). He reached four Grand Slam quarterfinals and led Belgium to the Davis Cup finals in 2015 and 2017. His best finish at the European Open was a run to the semifinals in 2016.
Bergs continues to fly the Belgian flag
Bergs, the number 6, made sure Belgium still had a player in the last eight. He defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-4 in their first-round match. The win was his 25th of the season, making him only the fourth Belgian in the Open Era to reach 25 Tour-level wins in more than one season, after Javier Malis, Olivier Rochus and Goffin.
Ranked 41st and this year’s Eastbourne champion, Bergs will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarter-finals.
Czech No. 2 Jiri Lehetska defeated Belgian Raphael Collignon 6-4, 6-2. Collignon, a semifinalist here last year, called a medical timeout in the second set to treat his abdomen while trailing 1-2 and preparing to serve.
Lehecka, seeded 20th and a finalist in the event the past two years, is only the second man to reach the quarterfinals three times in a row, after Diego Schwartzman. He now leads Collignon 2-0, having also beaten him 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at last year’s US Open. Ranked 55th, Collignon defeated American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
In the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open, Lehecka will face Dutchman Talon Grikspoor.
