Tim Henman expects a very dangerous Novak Djokovic to take to the court at the US Open.
The Serbian is riding a wave of confidence after achieving his dream of winning the Olympic gold medal at the fifth time of asking.
Djokovic became Olympic champion by outlasting Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to triumph in what was arguably his best performance of the season.
Now Djokovic’s attention turns towards the US Open, where he is the defending champion and is in pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam title.
What does Tim Henman expect to see from Novak Djokovic at the US Open?
Novak Djokovic is going through one of the most challenging seasons of his career, having not won a title until he claimed the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
He suffered a dip in form and tore the meniscus in his right knee at the French Open, but the World number two rose above the adversity to win the one title he craved most.
Now heading into the US Open with the Olympics burden now off his shoulders, Tim Henman expects an even more threatening version of Djokovic, which is bad news for his rivals.
“I just don’t think the way he works means he will think he has won the gold medal and that’s it. He still has an enormous passion for the game. He loves what he does and if anything, it might go the other way,” the former British number one told Tennis 365.
“Winning the Olympics might free him up. He might think he has ticked all the boxes and I am playing with the house’s money now. He might go out and feel no pressure as he looks to win another major at the US Open.
“That might be dangerous for the rest because he will play with freedom and while he is fit and healthy, I definitely think he has more major titles in him.”
How did Tim Henman rate Novak Djokovic’s performance against Carlos Alcaraz in the Olympic final?
After two extremely tight sets, it was Djokovic who prevailed to become Olympic champion, an honour that had eluded him throughout his career.
In the process he became just the fifth player to have won all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold medal, which is known as the golden slam.
Reflecting on the match, Henman was so impressed with how Djokovic played, he gave his performance some of the highest praise.
“To see what Novak did in Paris, I just think it was absolutely incredible. Specifically what he did in that final against Alcaraz was one of the greatest performances of his career,” Henman added.
“Pressure is all self-inflicted, but Djokovic spoke how much that gold medal meant to him and realistically, even by his amazing standards, that was his last chance at the age of 37. To beat Alcaraz, who was the French Open and Wimbledon champion was absolutely phenomenal.”
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