Novak Djokovic’s key ‘ability’ hailed by Justine Henin in 2024 season verdict
Novak Djokovic’s “ability” to win Olympic gold in Paris despite struggles elsewhere in 2024 has been hailed by tennis great Justine Henin.
In his fifth Olympic Games, Djokovic finally struck gold in Paris this summer, banishing past heartbreak as he downed title favourite Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling final.
That proved to be the high point of the 37-year-old’s season, with the Serbian failing to win a title outside of that event.
He was beaten in the Wimbledon final by Alcaraz and the Shanghai Masters final by Jannik Sinner, who also beat him in the last four of the Australian Open.
Djokovic was forced to pull out of his French Open quarter-final due to a meniscus tear, while he was stunned in the third round of the US Open by Alexei Popyrin.
The Serbian’s Olympic success came less than two months after his meniscus injury, which had required surgery.
And, speaking to Eurosport, fellow Olympic champion and former world No 1 Henin described Djokovic’s victory as “phenomenal” – and declared his season as a success.
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She said: “Of course his season was successful. He went and got the title he wanted, that was his ultimate goal.
“He went through a lot of phases this season, including certainly a phase of demotivation and then things to manage on a physical level too – but there was only one place where he wanted to shine.
“And the way he did it, I still can’t believe it. This ability, when he didn’t have a great season, when everyone was doubting him, to raise his level of play as he did and manage to be present again in a big event, it’s just phenomenal.”
2024 was the first year since 2017 that the former world No 1 has failed to win a Grand Slam title, with Sinner and Alcaraz sweeping the majors.
Djokovic has also fallen to world No 7 after playing just 10 tournaments, his lowest year-end ranking since his injury-stricken 2017 season, where he did not play after Wimbledon.
The Serbian could well end up facing one of Sinner or Alcaraz as early as the quarter-finals at the Australian Open next season due to his ranking.
However, despite his limited number of tournaments, he has crucially – and impressively – managed to remain inside the top eight of the ATP Rankings ahead of 2025.
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