Goffin admits he still has work to do
Originally published on: 04/06/12 00:00
David Goffin more than doubled his earnings for the year with his run to the fourth round of the French Open, but the 21-year-old Belgian insists that he had not been thinking about his prize money. Goffin, who eventually lost to Roger Federer, earned €83,000 (about $103,000) for his efforts at Roland Garros, having previously won $75,932 this year. “Of course it's my best prize money ever, but I don't think about this,” the world No.109 said. “First I think about the result and the moment on the court.”
Goffin, who got into the main draw as a “lucky loser” following the withdrawal of Gael Monfils, was making his first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament other than in qualifying. “Of course people will expect more from me in the future, but I'm still very young,” he said. “I'm working on the long term and if I want to have a long career, I still have to work hard.
“Of course you can't play in the round of 16 in a Grand Slam tournament three times a year, so I'm going to work hard to go back to the same level. It might not happen overnight, but I will give it all so that I can improve. I still have to work a lot. I still need to develop my play. I'm young. I have a long career ahead of me, so I'm going to work on the long term.”
Goffin said that he would work in particular on his fitness. “I have been working for some time to develop better fitness to be able to play for long seasons without an injury, being able to play throughout the year at my best level,” he said.
There is talk of Goffin playing in the Olympic Games, but he will have to wait until next week to see if he has a high enough ranking. “If they ask me to go, I will go,” he said. “I will defend Belgian colours in London. I had not been thinking about it before I came to this tournament, but now, after reaching this round of 16, obviously I'm on the brink of going to London.”
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