"Novak Djokovic been chasing Federer & Nadal and now he's overtaken them, this is the position he's desired for so long" - Tim Henman

Tim Henman believes Novak Djokovic has finally reached the position he has been desiring so long in his career — overtaking Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and cementing himself as the sole leader of men's tennis.

2023 saw Djokovic take the lead in the Slam race for the first time in his career, overtaking Nadal's tally of 22 Majors and ending the year with 24 to his name. The Serb added a couple of Masters 1000 trophies to his name as well, going up to 40, which is the most won by an ATP player in history.

The 36-year-old further finished the season as the World No. 1, his record-extending eighth such finish, and now has more than 400 weeks as the top-ranked player in the world — another record he has made his own.

Commenting on all that Djokovic managed to accomplish this year in a recent interview with Eurosport, Henman was in awe of the way the Serb played in 2023, noting that overtaking Nadal and Federer has mentally freed him more than anything else.

"Not only the events he won, but the way he played was just absolutely incredible. And I do feel mentally it looks like he's playing with a lot of freedom," Tim Henman said.

"I think for such a long time he's been chasing Federer and Nadal and all those different records: the number of Grand Slam wins or finishing the year No. 1 or weeks at No. 1… and now he's overtaken them. I think this is the position that he's desired for so long. He's achieved it and he's playing better than ever," he added.

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"2024 Australian Open, there's no doubt that Novak Djokovic is the favourite" - Tim Henman

Davis Cup Final - Italy v Serbia Semi-Final

Tim Henman also spoke about the 2023 Wimbledon final, where Carlos Alcaraz upset Novak Djokovic in the final in a marathon five-setter to bring up his second Major title. It was the only Grand Slam that the Serb failed to win this year, winning an otherwise staggering 27/28 matches in Majors all year.

Henman admitted that the Wimbledon final felt like a "changing of the guard" situation to many, only for Djokovic to roar back into form and prove them all wrong.

With that in mind, the Brit was confident in proclaiming that he will be the favorite for the upcoming Australian Open as well, where he will be looking for his 25th Slam and 11th title at the event.

"I think at that stage in July at Wimbledon when Alcaraz won, that was the type of match that Djokovic has won on so many occasions before, and suddenly Alcaraz beat him in a Major final and people were saying, ‘Well, perhaps this is the changing of the guard,’" Tim Henman said, via the aforementioned source.

"In my opinion, it couldn't have been further from the truth. The way that Djokovic then played for the rest of the year was absolutely incredible. So, 2024, Australian Open in the men's, in my mind, there's no doubt that Djokovic is the favourite. He's the man to beat," the former World No. 4 added.