Thanks to the extraordinary feat achieved at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal has scored his 21st Grand Slam. In a tournament that had often been hostile to him in the past, the Spanish phenomenon has achieved a ride that is nothing short of memorable. After surviving two real battles against Denis Shapovalov and Matteo Berrettini, the former world number 1 came back two sets behind Daniil Medvedev in the final. The Majorcan thus overtook Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the all-time rankings of the Majors, as well as becoming the fourth man in history to have won all the Grand Slams at least twice. Rafa will try to stretch further at Roland Garros, where he will hunt for his 14th seal. Djokovic will also be in Paris, as France decided to abolish the vaccination pass a few weeks ago. The Serbian is still far from top form, as evidenced by the premature elimination in Monte Carlo at the hands of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The situation regarding Federer is different, recovering from yet another operation on his right knee. The 40-year-old Swiss hopes to return in late summer or early autumn. David Goffin, fresh from his triumph in Marrakech, talked about the future of tennis once the Big 3 have retired.
Goffin on Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal
“Well, of course when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal will stop, it’s going to hurt. We are lucky to have known that generation. I was able to play against them, and I can even say I beat them at least once, all of them. It was incredible,” Goffin said. “But I’m not worried, because it’s going to be very exciting. We will have new winners of Grand Slams, new players will be at the top once Rafa and Djoko will be gone, and younger players will rise very quickly, like Alcaraz. Maybe Sinner will also do well. There will be plenty of new things happening. When Sampras and Agassi stopped, everybody was saying it’s going to be a catastrophe, and you saw what happened. We had the best generation of all time with Federer and Nadal. So I think it’s very exciting,” David Goffin said. Roger Federer, the tennis professional, has a presence like no one else. Being treasured by tennis fans is one thing, but affecting people outside tennis on such a huge scale is only possible if one is Roger Federer. The 20 times Grand Slam champion, Swiss professional stands alongside Djokovic and Nadal in the big three.