‘When Sampras and Agassi Stopped, Everybody Was Saying It’s Going to Be a Catastrophe’ – David Goffin Opens Up on the Future of Tennis After Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic Retire

David Goffin has had a turbulent tennis career. The Belgian showed immense potential and promise during his early days in tennis. Many tennis pundits billed him as the next big thing after the ‘Big Three’ of tennis. Additionally, he is amongst the few players who have achieved at least a win over each member of the Big Three.

However, Goffin has failed to hit a consistent run of form in big tournaments. His best-ever outing at a Grand Slam tournament remains a quarterfinal appearance. After achieving a career-high ranking of Number 7, the 31-year-old has dropped to the 47th spot on the latest ATP rankings.

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Goffin was in Monaco to participate at the Monte Carlo Masters tournament. However, his run was cut short by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated him in straight sets in the third round. Later, he opened up on the future of tennis after the retirement of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

David Goffin reveals his views on the future of tennis

During the post-match press conference at the Monte Carlo Masters, Goffin spoke about the time when the Big Three will eventually retire from tennis. He said, “Well, of course when Federer, 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.”

Further, he added, “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.”

Comparing the situation when the older generation of players retired, Goffin said, “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.”

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Goffin was playing in Monaco on the back of his title run in Morocco. However, he bowed out in the third round of the maiden ATP Masters tournament of the season on clay. He will be determined to put on a good show in the upcoming tournaments.