Former world No. 1 player Justine Henin has heaped praised on her fellow tennis all-time great Novak Djokovic.
Looking at Novak Djokovic‘s illustrious career, it almost seems like he is already the greatest tennis player of the modern era.
As things stand, the Serbian superstar has equalled his fellow “Big Three” members Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam record list with 20 major titles. Atop that, he also currently holds the record for most weeks spent as the world No. 1 player.
All told, many are convinced that Djokovic has already ticked all the boxes. However, according to Justin Henin, who spent a total of 117 weeks at No. 1 during her playing years, the best trait “The Joker” has at the moment is his unique and extra love for “adversity.”
“I think we [champions] all love competition. Him [Djokovic], even more so?,” Henin told Eurosport via Tennis World USA. “Does he have even more abilities? Obviously, yes. He is someone who can work on his motivation, who is able to feed it. But above all, Novak Djokovic is driven. We are all driven, I was and others at higher levels than me, by a competitive spirit.”
“I think he's someone who accepts and loves adversity, probably even more than others,” she further assessed. “And that's his great strength today. He says ‘pressure is a privilege’. He uses it, he needs it. He's able to cope with it and he's almost even stronger when it's most present. So that's what makes him really, really special.”
Indeed, Djokovic has been proving Henin right as he had just beaten Daniil Medvedev to cop the Paris Masters title, his first tournament since the devastating US Open final defeat. Moreover, he is also set to end the year at No. 1 for another record-setting seventh time.