Former British number one Tim Henman has backed Novak Djokovic to join rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in becoming one of the sport's greatest ever players.

The 27-year-old was triumphant in Monte Carlo earlier this week, making him the first man to win the opening three Masters events of the season.

Djokovic is now preparing for next month's French Open at Roland Garros, as he goes in search of a ninth Grand Slam title.

"Djokovic is a machine," Henman is quoted as saying by ESPN. "It's the way he's hitting the ball from the baseline, how aggressively he plays and how he does it with so few unforced errors.

"His movement and his athleticism - his ability to turn defence into attack is as good as I have ever seen. At the moment it's purely a numbers game. Nadal has won 14 Grand Slams and Federer has 17.

"Djokovic has won eight but in the not too distant future that number is going to climb to 11, 12, 13 and maybe more. When he does that, absolutely, he will go down as one of the greatest to have ever played the game."

Serbian pro Djokovic has won his last 17 matches.