Goffin spent more than two hours on court against Nadal on Monday before triumphing 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 over the world No 1, who subsequently withdrew with a knee injury.

But his Belgian conqueror’s performance less than 48 hours later could hardly have been more different, winning just two games against Dimitrov as the Bulgarian booked a semi-final spot with a 6-0, 6-2 victory.

However, Goffin would not make excuses afterwards about his physical or mental state, despite admitting the Nadal match was not an easy day at the office.

“When you play against Rafa, you have to play two hours and 40, 45 minutes,” said Goffin, who did not hold his post-match press conference until nearly midnight on Monday.

“You waste a lot of energy on the court.

“You finish really late after treatment.

“It's not easy to have a good recovery after a match like that.

“But it's not [the] reason [I lost to Dimitrov].

“I was feeling great.

“Physically I'm feeling 100%. 

“I don't think it's because it was a long match against Rafa.

“It's just that Grigor played well and it was not easy for me today.”

Goffin will now face a de facto quarter-final match against Dominic Thiem on Friday - neither have ever been beyond the round-robin stages of this tournament.

But they are familiar opponents, having played nine times in the professional ranks with Goffin triumphing six times and having hit together at the O2 Arena just last week.

However, the Belgian said he would still be coming back to the venue for this evening’s action to watch Thiem’s match and garner further tactical clues ahead of their clash.