No one will be as good as Novak, Rafa, Roger…

Tue 18 Apr 2023

Dusan Lajovic also commented on social media, namely new generations of tennis players he believes will never be as good as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. When a reporter asked him what he would have told to a 20-year-old Lajovic, he said:

“The first thing I would have told myself is to start with psychotherapy. And not only that. My advice to younger players would be to appreciate the present time because the general pace of life is faster today, don’t think too much about the future, or the past. It would be a good thing not to pay too much attention to other people’s comments and opinions and focus on yourself. The social environment is different today than it was when I was growing up. Young people cannot really focus on one thing only during the day. The impact of social media and new technologies is huge. Everything is much different now than it was when I was a kid. Young people grew up with the Internet and mobile phones whereas Novak and others did not. Young people believe that their public image is more important than it is for The Big Three. They also spend time on social media too but no so much. They have teams in charge of their social media accounts. They are not too burdened with social media so they maintain their continuity in the game. It’s a rare thing and I’m not sure that anyone could repeat their success.”