Andre Agassi said that Novak Djokovic would find it “emotionally” harder to compete in professional tennis after Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer retired. Back in 2022, Federer pulled the curtains down on his career after the Laver Cup while Nadal bid goodbye to tennis after Spain’s tie against the Netherlands recently in the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
Djokovic mostly struggled in 2024. Barring his gold medal in the Paris Olympics, the Serb failed to win a single title. He also suffered from injuries and also lost his No.1 ATP ranking to Italy’s Jannik Sinner. Agassi, however, said that one should not write off Djokovic going into the next season.
“It cannot be easy, especially when the people you came to the dance with have left. When Pete (Sampras) retired, it was a blow to me. It set me back a little bit. It made me have to rediscover my inspirations on some level,” Agassi said during the Marathon Mindset at the TiE Global Summit.
“And he’s (Djokovic) lost the guys that he’s made history with. So, it’s probably emotionally going to get tougher and tougher quickly, but I would never bet against him. Bet against him at your own peril,” Agassi said.
“He’s already done so much, so long, and it’s hard to imagine longer. I think he’ll run out of the energy for it more than the capability of it, I would imagine.”
Agassi also said that it would be tough for Alcaraz to match the legacy of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, although the Spaniard has the combined potential of the Big 3.
“Just because he has the best of all those three doesn’t mean he can do what they did, because there’re so many other parts to the game, which mean decision-making, injuries, you know, luck. Agassi added.
Alcaraz won the Wimbledon and French Open, after which he bagged silver in the Paris Olympics. But he did not make the greatest of finish to the year after failing to go through to the semis at the ATP Finals.
