US Open: Three ATP storylines to follow after Day 3

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 02: David Goffin of Belgium returns the ball during his Men’s Singles second round match against Lloyd Harris of South Africa on Day Three of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 2, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

2. David Goffin’s shrinking chances at a deep run

You may be thinking: Goffin just won in four sets, why would his chances be shrinking? Here’s why. Goffin has looked incredibly flat through two matches so far. He had a tough opening-round battle with Reilly Opelka (who many thought had the tools to sneak into the quarterfinals) but was able to sneak through despite being taken to a tiebreak in the first set and losing the second.

Today’s match against George Harris was very similar. Goffin started off slow, facing five break points in the first set compared to getting just one opportunity of his own (none of which were successfully converted). In the tiebreak, he was on the verge of losing at 5-3 before being able to focus in and finally take it, 8-6.

In the second, both players struggled on their serve and combined for five consecutive breaks (three for Harris). After going down 2-3, Goffin won just three combined points in Harris’ final three service games of the set. From there, though, he controlled the match on the return and took it 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

In all honesty, the #7 seed had a terrible serving performance. He finished with just a 60% first-serve rate and won just 24-of-60 points on his second serve (a paltry 40%). Granted, this isn’t terrible, but it’s those stats, coupled with the inability to capitalize on serve that shot his stock down. He faced 15 break points throughout the match and served 7 double faults. This simply isn’t going to cut it as he moves deeper into the tournament.

Given his shaky track record in Grand Slams (just three quarterfinal appearances in his career in 30 attempts), especially so at the US Open (no appearances beyond Round 4), Goffin’s chances at finally getting deep in a major look shot. He’ll face 26th-seeded Filip Krajinovic in Round 3, who’s coming off of a huge win against Dominic Thiem last week. Goffin will need to improve on his 46 unforced errors in order to have a shot.

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