David Goffin exits match after slipping on tarp, injuring ankle

— -- PARIS -- There's something about the cloying clay of Roland Garros this year that's leaving players both wounded and distraught.

David Goffin, the No. 10 seed,?caught his foot under the tarp that was folded up at the back of the court while chasing down a ball deep behind the baseline. He injured his right ankle and had to retire from his third-round match against Horacio Zeballos.

The Belgian went down immediately and held his ankle. He laid there for a few minutes in noticeable agony before officials helped him off the court.

"He had an MRI, and the news is reassuring: There is no tearing of the ligaments and no bone that's been broken, either," said Goffin's coach, Thierry van Cleemput.

"For the time being, we're optimistic," he said, adding that Goffin will stay in Paris for a couple of days of treatment before heading home to Belgium.

Zeballos, the 65th-ranked Argentine, stopped at Goffin's changeover station to grab his bags and carry them off the court. Goffin was leading 5-4 in the first set at the time.

Goffin was a quarterfinalist last year at the French Open.

This incident followed the painful and emotional exit of? Nicolas Almagro, who injured his knee and was forced to quit Thursday against Juan Martin del Potro, another Argentine.

Like Zeballos, del Potro's first reaction was to aid his fallen opponent. In a gesture that has now gone viral, del Potro consoled a tearful Almagro.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.