David Goffin outlasts Gael Monfils to get through in five sets

Eighth seed David Goffin has booked his place in the French Open fourth round after a five-set win over Gael Monfils.

Goffin finally came through after four hours and three minutes to win 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 4-6 7-5 6-3.

The players shared a break each in the first set but it was Monfils who took it, despite being pegged back from 5-2 to 6-6 in the tie-break.

Goffin then raced into a 5-0 lead in the second and, despite Monfils’ best efforts to come back with three games in a row, levelled the match.

Monfils regained the lead, though. He came from 2-0 down to break Goffin three times in a row on the way to 6-4.

After a 71-minute long fourth set, it was Goffin who finally prevailed. Monfils had four match points in a marathon 10th game, but Goffin held before breaking to take it 7-5.

It was Goffin who finally prevailed in the decider. He broke three times on the way to a 5-2 lead and sealed the victory with his first match point.

Cover Photo: By Carine06 from UK (David Goffin) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons