Djokovic 'Always Craved Affection' Given To Nadal And Federer Says Henman
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Former world No. 4 Tim Henman theorized that Novak Djokovic found being booed at the 2025 Australian Open particularly difficult because he wants the adoration his former rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer received.
Although Djokovic has had many passionate supporters for several years, and those numbers have increased throughout his career, the Serbian's relationship with tennis fans worldwide has been more complicated than that of Nadal and Federer.
Djokovic's two greatest rivals always received more support when he met them at the four Grand Slams and most tournaments. That never changed despite the 37-year-old's incredible success and surpassing many of Federer and Nadal's records.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is now the most statistically successful tennis player ever and is widely considered the greatest to have ever picked up a racket, ahead of Nadal and Federer.
However, the feeling of Djokovic not being as respected as Nadal and Federer returned when he was shockingly booed from the court after retiring from his semifinal match at the Australian Open against Alexander Zverev.
Afterward, Djokovic responded to those dissenters by posting a photo of his MRI scan, which showed a significant tear in his left hamstring. He accompanied the image with a message for the "injury experts" who doubted him.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Henman thinks wanting to be loved like Federer and Nadal is part of why Djokovic was so annoyed by the booing. The Briton also condemned those who jeered after everything the ten-time Australian Open champion has given to tennis.
"You dig a bit deeper, in my opinion, he's always craved the affection that has been shown to [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal. He absolutely doesn't deserve to be booed off the court, in the semis of a slam, when he's had to retire."
"I, like a lot of people, said I think they got it totally wrong. For someone that is going for their 11th Australian Open title and their 25th Slam to have pulled out after a set, he was obviously in a bad way. For him to be booed in that moment, I think it's pretty indefensible."
Some think Djokovic is unfazed by being treated differently from Nadal and Federer, but Henman's theory is consistent with what the Serbian's former coach, Boris Becker's words, who previously revealed that being disrespected more than his rivals used to bother him.
Henman also thinks that Wimbledon is Djokovic's best chance of winning a 25th Grand Slam title, which would make him the outright leader for major titles ahead of Margaret Court.
"I think Wimbledon is his best shot to win a 25th Grand Slam. He made the final last year on the back of knee surgery. And I think it's a combination of his confidence and understanding of grass-court tennis, and there perhaps being fewer other players who are comfortable on grass."
"You look at who realistically could have won in Australia, there was four, maybe five players? On grass it probably ends up being even less... [world No 1] Jannik Sinner has been in the semis, but I think grass is probably the surface that he's most vulnerable on; there's Djokovic and Alcaraz, but beyond that it's difficult to predict."
