"The debate is closed on many things, we have never seen a player so strong" - Justine Henin hails Novak Djokovic following US Open 2023 win

Former World No. 1 Justine Henin has showered Novak Djokovic with praise following his 2023 US Open win.

Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final of the New York Major to clinch his 24th Grand Slam title, a record in the Open Era. At 36, he is now the oldest player to win the title at Flushing Meadows, surpassing Ken Rosewall.

Having won the Australian Open and French Open titles this year, the Serbian will end his season with three Slams to his name. This will be the fourth such instance in his career, making him the first player to achieve this feat in tennis history.

Former Belgian pro Henin stated that Djokovic played better than expected against Medvedev in the final.

“Novak was the strongest, and he demonstrated it on many levels; we imagined that he would be totally ready to enter this final, but he did it in such a precise, so committed, so intense way,” she told Eurosport (via LE SOIR).

The nine-time Grand Slam champion further opined that it's now becoming difficult to find words to describe Novak Djokovic's greatness. She added that he has closed many debates in the sport with his performance at the US Open.

“We look for the words, because we no longer find them, concerning him. When we finally see this emotion we can imagine and we know all the work behind it, all this commitment, all its sacrifices, all its questioning, at 36 years old,” Henin said.

“There are no words, no matter how hard we look for one, but the debate is closed on many things, we have never seen a player so strong and he demonstrated it again in this final with style,” she added.

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“Tactically, everything he came up with was perfect” - Justin Henin on Novak Djokovic's performance in US Open 2023 final

Novak Djokovic with the 2023 US Open trophy.

While Novak Djokovic registered a straight-sets win against Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final, it was not as straightforward as it looked on paper. The second set was a close affair, with the Russian coming a hair's breadth away from winning it to level the proceedings.

At 3-3 in the second set, Medvedev began imposing himself on the contest a lot more and Djokovic even fell to the floor from fatigue. The former got himself a set point, which the Serb saved and then built on it to make his way to victory.

Justine Henin stated that Djokovic was tactically perfect against Medvedev and hailed him for digging himself out of a hole in the second set.

“And tactically, everything he [Novak Djokovic] came up with was perfect. And since Daniil Medvedev entered this part much more slowly, it made a significant gap. We had a second set of a truly exceptional level at times, with all the ingredients gathered to experience a great final,” she said.

“But that’s when Djokovic makes his life easier, by resisting. He was on a wire, and then it became clinical again, on his part; he weakens at times, and fortunately so, but he has so much mental strength that it becomes discouraging for his opponents.”