Much has been written in recent days about what happened at Flushing Meadows. The hangover from Novak Djokovic’s 24th Grand Slam is still present, and there are many legends of this sport who have analyzed the Serbian’s feat. Justine Henin was the last to join the debate… which, for her, is now closed.
Because if something is clear Justine Henin the thing is Novak Djokovic It is, to this day, the best in history. Or at least that’s what he made clear when speaking for Eurosport, in statements collected by Tennis365. The Belgian tennis player, champion of siete Grand Slamsespecially praised the tactical intelligence of Belgrade: for her he did different things when facing Daniil Medvedev, and it is that patience when dissecting the Russian’s game that made him stand out from other players who previously tried to surpass the Muscovite. The Belgian did not spare her words when dissecting the last Grand Slam final that we have experienced:
“Tactically, everything he did was perfect. Because Medvedev took a little longer to get into the match, that made a significant difference. We had a second set of an exceptional level, with all the ingredients present for us to witness a great final. But that’s when Djokovic becomes stronger, when he has to resist. He was on the ropes and became clinical again. “Sometimes it may seem like she is weaker, but she has so much mental strength that it ends up being discouraging for his rivals.”Henin pointed out when breaking down the final. “Novak was the strongest, and he showed it in several aspects. We knew he would arrive at the final completely ready, but he did it in an incredibly precise, committed, intense way.”
And the debate over who is the best? Has Djokovic’s 24th Grand Slam closed the door to other names? Without wanting to mention other tennis legends, Justine spoke without hesitation and confirmed that, for her, there is no debate right now. “Sometimes we try to find qualifiers, because we are left speechless when talking about him. When we see his emotions is when we imagine all the work that must have gone behind it, all his commitment, his sacrifices and his doubts at the age of 36 years. No matter how much we try to look for reasons or different issues, but the debate is completely closed in many aspects. We have never seen such a strong player, and in the final he showed it again.”
DJOKOVIC DID WHAT ALCARAZ COULD NOT
Henin went further, contributing what, for her, was the key to the final and what differentiated Novak with respect to the approach of Carlos Alcaraz in semi-finals. The start of the match is the answer to the Murcian’s problems in the semifinals, as Henin commented: “Djokovic was able to do what Alcaraz couldn’t just two days before: leave your mark at the start of the game. Djokovic showed his offensive intentions, attacking him quickly and very soon. He served very well at the beginning of the match, even despite dropping his first serve percentage later. On the contrary, Medvedev was not able to generate enough impact.”. Who knows what could have happened, of course, if Carlos had taken advantage of the two break balls he had at the beginning of the match.
2023-09-14 15:54:09
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