Rafa Nadal win over David Goffin comes at a cost to book his spot in the Monte Carlo final
Nadal booked his place in the Monte Carlo Open final for the 11th time, but it was not the way anyone wanted to see it happen. His win over David Goffin, 6-3, 6-1, center over one horribly controversial call by the chair umpire.
Playing an energized, fast-paced, dynamic David Goffin, who had just ousted Novak Djokovic the day before, Rafael Nadal looked the weaker of the two players, and hit the ball long on a decisive point. The linesman called it long, both players clearly saw the ball long and had already adjusted to play the next point.
The only person who saw it differenly was the chair umpire. In one of the most baffling calls I’ve seen in tennis, chair umpire Cedric Mourier decided to come down from his chair and look at the mark, except he looked at the wrong one, which showed a ball hitting the line. This was clay and on clay, it’s very easy to see where the ball leaves a mark on the dirt. There is no need for Hawkeye on the court and it is not used in the clay tournaments.
The 26 year-old Belgian of course argued the point, with the spectators on his side, but Mourier did not budge and forced Goffin and Nadal to replay the point. The players went back-and-forth during the deuce game, with the 30 year-old gaining the upper hand and the game. Goffin couldn’t get the bad call out of his head and seemed to lose all the momentum he had gained prior to the point. Who knows if Nadal would have rebounded or if Goffin would walked away the victor, building on what would have been a 4-2 lead. I suppose we shall never know.
The crowd remained pro-Goffin for the rest of the match and Mary Carillo said that Nadal should have “gifted” his competitor the point. Goffin, ever the gentleman, only had positive things to say about the Spaniard.
“He couldn’t do anything about it. Rafa is one of the most fair players on the tour. He was just playing his match. I have nothing against him,” said the 10th seed in his press conference.
Although Goffin refused to shake the umpire’s hand, he still managed to remain a gentleman when asked about him afterwards.
“I have nothing against the umpire,” Goffin said about Mourier in his presser. “He’s a very nice guy. But he makes mistakes. I don’t know what to do about it. I can try to complain, but this is not my usual attitude now that the match is behind me.”
And the Belgian walked away from his chance at his first Masters 1000 title with a positive outlook.
“It was a beautiful tournament,” the 13th ranked player said. “I gave it my all. I’m very satisfied with what I achieved against the best players in the world on a surface that I like. It’s only positive. I have to keep working in that direction. I think I improved this week and I know now that I can have high ambitions.”
Considering that he almost ousted Nadal in a tournament he’s won nine times, and came back from a break behind in the third set against Novak Djokovic the day before, it’s clear that the high-octane performance he gave during this week in Monte Carlo will hopefully allow him to erase the memory of that horrendous call and help him keep his momentum for the rest of the clay season.
Nadal will face Albert Ramos-Viñolas in the final at Court Ranier III on Sunday. Nadal is going for his 10th crown here, one of three clay court tournaments where he holds nine. He is currently tied with Guillermo Vilas for most clay titles, and a win here will mean he will hold the most outright.
The Monte Carlo final will be broadcast on ESPN at 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning.