David Goffin proved his run to the semi finals at Indian Wells was no fluke after overcoming Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the quarter finals of the Miami Open.
The Frenchman took the first set and perhaps seemed the fresher of the two players but Goffin fought back to sweep past his opponent in the following two sets, in what was a clash of two very similar playing styles. When Goffin and Simon played from backhand to backhand it almost seemed as if there was a mirror in the middle of the court and the clash was fascinating as both Goffin and Simon are players who use their brains to decipher a way of winning matches more than employing brute power.
The Belgian showed patience after the first set and pounced on a drastic drop in points won on Simon’s first serve in the second set /from 67% to 47%) to break him three times and race away to the set. The Frenchman’s confidence and endurance took a blow as plenty of exchanges between the two reached up to thirty strokes and Goffin took early command of the final set with a 3-0 lead. It was just a case of getting over the finish line for the Liege born player who has now won 10 of his last 11 matches and will try to go one step further than in Indian Wells as he awaits the winner of the clash between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych.
