"Even if your name is Novak Djokovic, you're still a human being" - Justine Henin

Justine Henin believes Novak Djokovic is feeling the weight of all the controversies and issues that have engulfed him over the past couple of years. Henin reckons that even though Djokovic is mentally tough, he is susceptible to periods of doubt and turmoil.

The 20-time Major champion has undergone a series of unfortunate events and controversies in previous years, beginning with the much-maligned Adria Tour during the pandemic's peak.

The World No. 1 saw himself getting disqualified from the US Open the same year for striking a lineswoman with a ball in an act of petulance. Within months, he was handed a brutal 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 defeat at the hands of Rafael Nadal in the 2020 Roland Garros final.

The following year, Djokovic won three Majors in a row but failed to win a medal at the Olympics. He was also unable to complete a historic Calendar Slam as he lost in the US Open final against Daniil Medvedev.

2022 has arguably been even worse for the Serb so far, given he was deported from Australia due to his unvaccinated status. He was also forced to sit out of the Indian Wells and Miami Masters for the same reason, thus reducing his chances of getting enough match practice.

Justine Henin cited all this on a recent podcast while discussing the Serb's second-round defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters.

"We can't under-estimate the emotional roller-coaster he [Djokovic] has been on," Henin told Eurosport France's 'DiP Impact' podcast. "Not just the Australian Open and not just all the effort he made to try and win his 21st Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open either. But you can also go back to the US Open in 2020 when he was disqualified. From there, he then had the tough [final] defeat [to Rafa Nadal] at Roland Garros. Then he had the abdominal injury and his somewhat miraculous win at the Australian Open in 2021."

Henin firmly believes that this chain of events would have left a scar on the World No. 1's mind regardless of his immense mental strength.

"You've got to imagine what all that must have been like. Even if your name is Novak Djokovic, you're still a human being," Henin said. "He can't have gone through all that calmly."

That said, the seven-time Major champion explained that she does not think the Serb will feel the weight of these events throughout his career.

"I'm not saying all this is going to have an impact on the rest of his career, but he's got to digest and recover from all of that," she continued. "And these are factors that have got to be taken into account when we talk about him now."

"I think he's going to recover, and we'll once again sooner or later see the Djokovic of old" - Justine Henin

Novak Djokovic in action during the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters

During the podcast, Justine Henin said that she expects Novak Djokovic to regain his mojo sooner rather than later.

However, in the same breath, the Belgian stressed that athletes must not be perceived as machines since dealing with adversities takes a toll eventually.

"But I think he's going to recover and we'll once again sooner or later see the Djokovic of old, so I'm not too worried at this stage," Henin said.

"But these players aren't machines either, and even if he showed us that he could deal with so many things and that the more he was in difficulty, the more he could bounce back, how long can he keep doing that?" she asked.