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David Goffin tops Dominic Thiem to reach Australian quarters

By The Sports Xchange
David Goffin of Belgium beat eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-2 in the fourth round at Melbourne, Australia. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI
David Goffin of Belgium beat eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-2 in the fourth round at Melbourne, Australia. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo

David Goffin made history for his nation Monday, becoming the first Belgian player ever to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

The tournament's 11th seed, Goffin beat eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-2 in the fourth round at Melbourne, Australia.

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"I kept fighting, that was definitely key, winning the second-set tiebreaker where I made some good returns," Goffin said. "I continued to push on in the rallies, and I'm really happy to win. Mentally, I'm tired."

The quarterfinal berth is Goffin's second at a major event. He fell to Thiem in four sets in the quarters at the French Open last year.

That event marked the only time Thiem advanced past the fourth round in a Grand Slam event. He fell to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

Goffin also beat Thiem in Melbourne last year, though they met in the third round on that occasion.

Next up for Goffin will be either 15th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria or unseeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, who upset Djokovic in the second round last week.

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In men's singles action scheduled for later Monday, ninth-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain was scheduled to oppose sixth-seeded Gael Monfils of France. The winner of that match will head to a quarterfinal against the winner of the match between third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada and 13th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

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