<p>MONACO — David Goffin beat an erratic Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 to reach the second round of the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday.</p>
<p>Although the 2014 U.S. Open champion Cilic had 10 aces and led the match 3-0, he made 52 unforced errors and also dropped serve six times against the 11th-seeded Belgian.</p>
<p>It was the ninth meeting between them. Goffin leads 5-4.</p>
<p>“In the first and second set, I had problems with the returns,” the 30-year-old Goffin said. "In the third set, I was more consistent. It was a good match.”</p>
<p>The day’s only other match lasted three hours as Australian player Jordan Thompson overcame Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5) in an error-strewn match with 17 service breaks. </p>
<p>Thompson has won his two career matches against Paire, with both on clay.</p>
<p>Rafael Nadal seeks a record-extending 12th title here and the 20-time Grand Slam champion could meet top-ranked Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, in next Sunday’s final.</p>
<p>Djokovic beat Nadal in the 2013 final and won the tournament again in 2015, while Nadal’s 11th title came in 2018. </p>
<p>Nadal was convincingly beaten by Fabio Fognini in the semifinals in 2019, and the tournament was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<hr />
<p>More AP sports: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports">https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>
