"Djokovic remains in the shadow of Nadal and Federer" - says Justine Henin

While a great champion like them, possibly even bigger, Djokovic never enjoyed the same popularity around the same as those two. The Serbian admitted that it's something that bothers him a little bit but it is not much you can do. The Serbian played the villain quite a few times in big matches and seemed to feed off it as well.

Justine Henin believes that will never change saying:

"Like it or not, Novak Djokovic remains a bit in the shadow and will probably never really be the hero or idol that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are. But what he is achieving in an era where tennis is at a really exceptional level, and particularly physically, the schedules are much more demanding than they were in the past – it is incredible."

Despite the lack of mass popularity compared to Federer and Nadal, for Henin achieving a calendar grand slam during a pandemic would be a tremendous achievement:

“We mustn’t forget the Covid period. For a lot of players, you have to be very strong in your head at this time. I think you really have to be very, very strong. I don’t know how I could have experienced things."

She continued:

“All that makes it a major achievement. Today, I still find it difficult to compare eras, but we’re in an era of men’s tennis, and it’s going to be difficult to know better in the decades to come.”