Goffin's singles career ends in Brussels as Michelsen wins 6-3, 6-4

The last dance is over, at least in singles. David Goffin played the final singles match of his 17-year professional career on Thursday at the European Open in Brussels, losing 6-3, 6-4 to American fifth seed Alex Michelsen in 1 hour and 27 minutes on the centre court at Brussels Expo.

The 35-year-old Belgian had announced in the spring that 2026 would be his last season and chose his home event as the place to stop. One day after an emotional comeback win had kept the farewell going, the world No. 37 proved too strong and too quick for him.

Michelsen in control, Goffin fights to the end

Michelsen, 13 years younger than Goffin, struck first by breaking in the sixth game of the opening set to lead 4-2. Goffin had a chance to strike back at 5-3 but could not convert his break point, and the American closed out the set.

The pattern repeated itself in the second set. Michelsen broke in the fifth game, consolidated for 4-2, and looked set to finish quickly. Goffin, roared on by the home crowd, broke back and closed to 5-4, even working his way to 15-40 on the Michelsen serve. The American held firm, however, and sealed the win to reach the quarter-finals.

According to Belgian broadcaster BX1, the defeat leaves Goffin with a final tour-level singles record of 358 wins and 276 losses from 634 matches, a winning rate of 56.5 per cent. He leaves the sport ranked No. 657, a long way from the career high of world No. 7 he reached in his prime.

A first-round escape to remember

Goffin's last singles win came on Wednesday, and it was a fitting one. Against Swiss lucky loser Remy Bertola, he came back to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 after trailing 0-3 in the deciding set, taking six of the last seven games and saving nine of the 11 break points he faced. It was his first tour-level win since he beat Ben Shelton at the Shanghai Masters last year.

"I don't know what to say, it was one of the toughest moments and nicest moments when I came on court," Goffin said afterwards, as quoted by the ATP.

Tribute on court, doubles still to come

After the handshake with Michelsen, organisers paid tribute to Goffin with a video of his career highlights, including his wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and his Davis Cup memories. Former Belgian team-mates Ruben Bemelmans, Steve Darcis and Germain Gigounon joined him on court, L'Avenir reported.

WTAAuger-Aliassime pulls out of Basel too, ending his ATP Finals bid

The record speaks for itself: six ATP titles, nine further finals including the 2017 season-ending championship final and a Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati, and two Davis Cup finals with Belgium in 2015 and 2017. For more than a decade, Goffin was the face of Belgian men's tennis, and his technically clean, counter-punching game made him a fan favourite well beyond his home country.

The farewell is not quite complete. Goffin is still in the doubles draw in Brussels alongside Raphaël Collignon, with whom he opened the week with an upset. The pair were scheduled to play again on Thursday evening, so the Brussels crowd has at least one more chance to say goodbye.

Michelsen, meanwhile, moves on to a quarter-final against top seed Arthur Fils, according to the official ATP draw.