Tim Henman didn’t expect Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to hit the heights they hit (Image: Getty)
Few players had a front-row seat to the rise of tennis legends , , and like . The former British No. 1 faced each would-be member of ‘the Big Three’ in their teenage years and admitted their incredible talent and potential was clear as day.
That said, he claimed he initially had doubts about Nadal’s game and even tipped the Spaniard to fall short of superstardom. “I practised with Nadal, and I’d never seen anyone hit the ball that hard,” Henman told .
“But every third shot was in the back fence, and I just didn’t honestly believe that you could play like that because you’d make mistakes. He didn’t hit the ball quite as hard in matches, but after I’d lost the practice set 6-1, I thought maybe it will work,” he chuckled.
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The rise of ‘the Big Three’ coincided with the twilight of Henman’s career. He faced Nadal twice and Djokovic once, losing all three encounters. His record against Federer is more respectable, boasting six wins from 13 matches – though, notably, only one came after the Swiss claimed his first Grand Slam title.
Reflecting on the remarkable achievements of the trio, Henman said he always thought they were capable of winning majors but never imagined they’d go on to dominate the sport as they did. “I think if I was to wind the clock back to when I was first aware of each of them, I would have said yeah they’re very very good players. Can they win a slam? Yeah I think they can win a slam. But beyond that, absolutely not,” Henman said.
“To win 66 between them is just difficult to comprehend. I think when [Pete] Sampras was playing in my era and he got to 14, I would have bet my bottom dollar that no one was going to go past that. To see three of them do it is incredible.”
Tim Henman says he had doubts about Rafael Nadal’s game when he was coming through (Image: Getty Images)
Federer won his first major, , in 2003, and Nadal followed suit in 2005 by winning the . Djokovic, meanwhile, secured his maiden Grand Slam at the in 2008.
By the end of the decade, the three of them had amassed 21 major titles collectively, with Federer nabbing his 10th by 2007. Nadal hit the same mark in 2010, while Djokovic got there in 2016.
In 2018, Federer clinched his 20th Grand Slam title, with Nadal and Djokovic matching this feat in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Each man has held the distinction of being the most successful male player in history at some point, though the honour now belongs to Djokovic, who has 24 majors under his belt – four more than Federer and two more than Nadal.
Henman himself never managed to win a Grand Slam, though did reach six semi-finals, including four at . He also clinched 11 ATP singles titles and was British No. 1 for over six years.