Goffin: Bad call in Monte Carlo semi was ump's fault, not Nadal's

David Goffin says a bad call affected him mentally in his semifinal against Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo, but it was the umpire's error, and Nadal was not in a position to give him the point.

Goffin was up a break in the first set, and he appeared to win a long game to make it 4-2 when Nadal sent a backhand that was declared long. Goffin circled a mark, but the umpire inspected the baseline and said the ball had been in.

Replays indicated the ball was at least a few inches long. Goffin won just one more game in the match.

"I have nothing against the umpire," Goffin said. "He's a very nice guy. But he makes mistakes. I don't know what to do about it. I can try to complain, but this is not my usual attitude, now that the match is behind me."

While the game went on for several more deuces, and Goffin had more game points, he said he found it difficult to rebuild his concentration.

"I think it was 3-2, after 35 or 40 minutes, so the intensity was really high," he said. "All of a sudden you have a mistake like the chair umpire did, [and] it's really tough ... You feel like it's 4-2, you're sure it's 4-2. You show the mark and everything.

"I know I need to hold my serve—to start again, the game. Physically it was tough, and mentally also."

The crowd booed when Nadal got the point and later the game, but Goffin said his opponent would not have seen exactly where the ball hit the court.

"Rafa has nothing to do with this," insisted the Belgian.  "He knows his forehand was heavy and long and deep. But he was on the other side of the court. He couldn't do anything about it ... Rafa is one of the most fair players on the tour. He was just playing his match. I have nothing against him."

Nadal said he could not get involved because the call was on the far baseline.

"I see that David marks the ball," Nadal said. "I went to pick up the towel, preparing for the next game. When the umpire goes down and says the ball is good, what I can say, no? ... If the ball is on my side [and] I see the ball is in, I give the ball to the other side."

The world No. 5 also noted that despite the controversy surrounding the point, he had improved his own play to push Goffin during the game.

"I like him a lot," Nadal said. "He's playing [a] great level of tennis since beginning of the season. He's in a good position to fight for important things because he has the level and he has the confidence."