Goffin slips, retires from French Open third round

[June 02, 2017]  By Karolos Grohmann

PARIS (Reuters) - Belgian 10th seed David Goffin was forced to retire from his third-round encounter against Argentine Horacio Zeballos at the French Open on Friday after slipping and hurting his ankle.

The in-form Goffin, ranked 12th in the world, was leading 5-4 in the first set when Zeballos, who had earned his first break point, forced him to the edge of the court near a cover with a deep groundstroke.

Goffin, a semi-finalist in Monte Carlo this year, managed to get to the ball, lifting a lob over the Argentine but slipped in the process, hurting his ankle.

Medical staff rushed on and helped him off the court for a medical check. The umpire announced minutes later that the 26-year-old was forced to retire.

Zeballos, 32, who is through to the fourth round of the French Open for the first time, will now play the winner of the match between sixth seed Dominic Thiem of Austria and American Steve Johnson.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Julien Pretot)

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Belgium's David Goffin in action during his third round match against Argentina's Horacio Zeballos Reuters / Benoit Tessier