Belgian tennis star David Goffin said it will be a sad day for tennis once Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are all gone but added he is confident a new group of guys will come and the game won’t be lacking entertainment and excitement.
“Of course, when Federer and Nadal stop, it will hurt. We are lucky to have known this generation. I was able to play against them, and I can even say that I beat them at least once, all of them. It was amazing. But I’m not worried, because it’s going to be very exciting. We will have new Grand Slam winners, new players will be at the top once Rafa and Djoko are gone, and younger players will rise very quickly, like Alcaraz. Maybe Sinner will do as well. There will be lots of new stuff. When Sampras and Agassi retired, everyone said it was going to be a disaster, and you saw what happened. We had the best generation ever with Federer and Nadal. So I think that’s very exciting,” Goffin said, per We Love Tennis.
Goffin has beaten each Big Three member
Goffin, a former world No. 7, has four losses versus Nadal but he has also beaten the Spaniard twice.
Against Federer, Goffin has one win and 10 losses.
When it comes to his head-to-head versus world No. 1 Djokovic, Goffin has won one of their eight meetings.
Overall, Goffin hasn’t had much success against the Big Three but at least he can say that he has beaten each Big Three at least once.
Federer, 40, will likely be the first Big Three member to retire.
Nadal, who turns 36 June, has proved at the start of this season that he is still capable of playing at the highest level.
On the other side, Djokovic’s future is uncertain because of his vaccination status.