Goffin's farewell starts with a doubles upset alongside Collignon

David Goffin's final week as a professional has started with a win. On Monday at the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open in Brussels, the former world No. 7 played doubles alongside fellow Belgian Raphaël Collignon. The wildcard pair beat third seeds Marc Polmans of Australia and Jan Zieliński of Poland 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals.

Goffin is 35 and currently ranked No. 657 in singles. He has been the face of Belgian men's tennis for 17 years on the ATP Tour and chose Brussels as the last event of his career. Monday's doubles match on Centre Court was his first appearance of the week, in front of a home crowd.

Collignon finishes the job

The Belgians broke in the fifth game of the opening set and kept that lead to the end of the set. The second set was harder. According to Tennisplaza, Goffin and Collignon kept falling behind and kept coming back. They converted four of their ten break-point chances in a match that lasted about an hour and a quarter.

Goffin was quick to give his partner credit. "It's a shame I lost my serve a few times, but Raphaël made up for it brilliantly," he told reporters, as quoted by La DH. "At 5-5 in the second set he finished it off perfectly with very aggressive tennis." He also said he had gone into the match "with a lot of pleasure and a smile, but also with great motivation."

For Collignon, who is 24 and ranked No. 55 in singles, the occasion clearly meant a lot. "It's a pleasure to play with David," he said, according to RTBF. "Being able to play here, in Belgium, alongside Goffin is an immense honour."

Busy days ahead for both Belgians

In the quarter-finals they will play Germany's Constantin Frantzen and American Robert Galloway. Frantzen and Galloway beat Petr Nouza and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-2 on Monday. According to La DH, three of the four doubles quarter-finals are scheduled for Thursday.

Before that, both men have singles matches. Collignon plays American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy on Tuesday evening. On the same day, Zizou Bergs faces Britain's Toby Samuel on Centre Court, not before 6pm, which tournament organisers have billed as a Belgian day.

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Goffin's first singles match of his farewell tournament is on Wednesday, against Switzerland's Remy Bertola, after Holger Rune's withdrawal reshaped the draw. The winner will play fifth seed Alex Michelsen. The American opened his first Brussels campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri in 60 minutes.

Dutch duo also through

The Netherlands also had reason to celebrate in the doubles draw. Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp beat the pairing of Cerundolo and Kittay 7-6(0), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals. It was their seventh win in 12 matches together this season.

Goffin now has at least two more matches at home: Bertola in singles on Wednesday, with Michelsen waiting for the winner, and Frantzen and Galloway in the doubles quarter-finals.