"Novak Djokovic is no longer there to please the public, he is there to win" - Justine Henin
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin reckons Novak Djokovic has reached a point where he's no longer trying to please the public, but instead focused on amassing as many wins as possible. The Belgian also said this attitude shift from the World No. 1 makes him more appealing to fans.
On Sunday, Djokovic beat Grigor Dimitrov in the Paris Masters final to take home a record-extending 40th Masters 1000 title. The win also pushed him closer to the year-end World No. 1 spot. One match win at the ATP Finals will be enough for the 24-time Grand Slam champion to end the season as the top-ranked ATP player.
That, in turn, will guarantee him more than 400 weeks as the World No. 1, an achievement considered virtually impossible just a few years ago. The only other player who is even within shouting distance of the Serb is 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf, who retired after 377 weeks at the top of the WTA rankings. Among men, Roger Federer, also retired, is in a distant second place with 310.
Speaking to Eurosport, Henin described how Djokovic has learnt not to be distracted when the crowd is hostile towards him, a scenario that was repeated multiple times in Paris-Bercy last week.
The former World No. 1 also emphasized that this ability of the 36-year-old to distance himself from the public brings with it a unique appeal that was previously not the case.
“We know that it is not always pleasant to have the public who, all of a sudden, become hostile and support the opponent. And very intelligently, he cuts short what is happening and at the same time he remobilizes himself. He has a lot of experience at this level," Henin said.
“But I still think that in relation to this question of the public, he is distancing himself more and more. He is no longer there to please (the public), he is there to play and win, and, I think, that by finally doing so, it still appeals to a lot of people," she added.
Novak Djokovic: "I'm going for all possible records, all that I can break"
After his Paris Masters triumph, Novak Djokovic proclaimed that he would try to break every available record in the book, and reiterated that he didn't have a problem saying so openly.
While the Serb admitted that it might be the reason some people do not like him, he doesn't want to pretend to be someone else to win over fans.
"I'm going for all possible records, all that I can break. I've never had a problem saying that. And that may bewhy people don't like me; I didn't pretend to be someone - to say that it's not my goal, and then to behave differently... I always tried to be in line with what I believe," he said.