Tim Henman described Roger Federer as the “most complete player” that he faced but also noted that in his eyes, Novak Djokovic is the undisputed tennis GOAT.
Since the Swiss was the oldest Big Three member, he was the player from the group who had the most meetings against the Briton.
And while Henman beat Federer in six of their first seven meetings, he didn’t stand much of a chance after the Swiss elevated his game to another level as the tennis icon beat the Briton in each of their last six matches to finish with a 7-6 head-to-head.
When it comes to Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the former world No. 4 lost to the Serb in their lone meeting and he was also beaten by the Spaniard in each of their two clashes.
“I played Roger the most and I felt that he had the most complete game, he could play on any surface, had very few weaknesses and there wasn’t a specific area that you could necessarily attack,” Henman told talkSPORT.
“But I certainly didn’t think they were going to go on and win 69 between them…
“For me, Roger was the most complete player that I ever played against.”
Henman: It’s fairly straightforward that Djokovic is the ATP GOAT
In the same interview, the former British tennis star said that after playing against every Big Three member for the first time, he could sense they would win Grand Slams.
However, he also noted that he didn’t expect them to combine for 66 Majors – Djokovic 24, Nadal 22, Federer 20.
When directly asked about who is the greatest ever, Henman didn’t have any doubt.
“For me, it’s fairly straightforward that Djokovic is the greatest male player of all time,” the former six-time Grand Slam semifinalist said.
“How do you judge that? I think it does become a numbers game, it’s who has won the most Grand Slams, who has had the most weeks at number one, who has won the most Masters 1000 – and it’s Djokovic.”
Tennis World USA