David Goffin forced to retire after being struck in the left eye by a ball off his own racquet

DAVID Goffin was forced to retire after a bizarre incident saw him struck in the left eye by a ball off his own racquet durign his match against Grigor Dimitrov.

David Goffin of Belgium (L) reacts after an injury during his semi-final singles match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria for the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on February 17, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / ANP / Koen Suyk / Netherlands OUT

DAVID Goffin was forced to retire after being struck in the left eye by a ball off his own racquet, sending second seed Grigor Dimitrov into the final 6-3, 0-1 at the Rotterdam World Tennis.

The unlucky Belgian fourth seed was forced to leave the court for treatment on Saturday and just over five minutes later, the umpire told Dimitrov that he had won through retirement.

Goffin caught a ball in the eye as it bounced off his frame in the opening game of the second set after Dimitrov had won the first.

The pair are frequent rivals, and were meeting in the wake of the November ATP Finals victory claimed by Dimitrov in that title match.

The Bulgarian heads to the Sunday final to face either Roger Federer or Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi, Federer will be playing his first match after claiming a return to the top ATP ranking on Friday with a defeat of Dutchman Robin Haase.

David Goffin of Belgium (L) reacts after an injury

Originally published as David Goffin forced to retire after being struck in the left eye by a ball off his own racquet