The 38-year-old turned back the clock in the semi-finals to end Sinner’s reign at Melbourne Park. Djokovic’s victory over the world No.2 came after he lost his previous five meetings and nine sets to the Italian.

That run looked set to continue after Sinner won the first set of their last four clash at Melbourne Park. But 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic showed his class to fight back and claim a memorable 3-6 ​6-3 ​4-6 6-4 6-4 ‍win in four hours and nine minutes.

And Henman has explained to Tennis365 why he thought it could be an ’embarrassing’ tie for Djokovic while watching the match Down Under in late January.

He said: “In the first three rounds, I definitely have my doubts about Djokovic. He wasn’t at the right level. Then he is two sets to nil down against Musetti and you think, he’s going home for sure.

“What was so amazing against Sinner was he lost the first three game and he was completely off the pace. I was sitting in the commentary box thinking ‘this could be embarrassing’. I really felt that you could get taken to the cleaners because his level wasn’t there, but so many people have said in the past, you never write off these great champions and that match was a perfect example.

“The way that he then changed his tactics, second, third, four sets and became so aggressive, going down the line and not missing, it was absolutely incredible. You know, I was finding it hard to believe what I was watching. I really was. And I’ve watched him for 20 plus years. It was an amazing performance.”

The 51-year-old also suggests he was starting to believe Djokovic could go on to beat world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the final after he took the opening set 6-2. However, reality struck home for the 10-time Australian Open champion who went on to lose 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5.

He added: “When he won the first set 6-2 against Alcaraz, you’re thinking, ‘wow this could be Grand Slam No 25’, but the difference between Alcaraz and Sinner, I think, was very evident.

“Sinner, you know, didn’t change his game plan because he has been the best hard court player for the last couple of years and he tried to fight fire with fire. He was just going for it. And if anything, that played on Djokovic’s hands.

“Whereas you saw Alcaraz, who’s got the far greater variation, start to play with shape, start to just extend some of the rallies, use the slice back end. And that was a big turning point.”

Djokovic could meet Alcaraz once again in the semi-finals at Indian Wells this fortnight. The Serbian begins his campaign on Saturday against Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, while Alcaraz starts against Grigor Dimitrov on the same day.