Novak Djokovic has received scathing criticism from another ATP player, who accused him of being unpleasant when they practiced together.
Many of Djokovic’s colleagues, including Daniil Medvedev, have spoken about him treating them well and on an equal footing when they met or practiced together. That clearly meant a lot to those men.
However, Jules Marie, who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 203 last year, claims to have had a very different experience when he practiced with Djokovic. He opened up about what happened on Instagram.
As per The Mirror, Marie recounted how Djokovic was annoyed if the shots from the other side of the net were not exactly how he wanted them and also did not let him serve when he tried to, saying the Frenchman had to make way for his coach.
“You play on the edge with him. If you hit a ball 1.5m away from him, he doesn’t play it and looks at you like, ‘if you do it again, I’ll kick you out’. At one point, I served a ball, and he didn’t play it. He says to me, ‘it’s my coach who is supposed to serve’. So his coach serves, I hit the ball back, and he sends the ball 50 metres high. I don’t know why… not nice at all.”
Although Marie has not reached the top of the sport, many fans know him for his entertaining YouTube channel, which includes insights into the life of a lower-ranked tennis player and the trials and tribulations that come with it.
Marie thinks that Djokovic becoming aware of his YouTube channel by the time they later practiced together at the Australian Open and the cameras being on at the Grand Slam led to the Serbian acting differently on that occasion.
“On the other hand, at the Australian Open, I was no longer a sparring partner; I was a player. So it was different, and he knew about my YouTube channel. Plus, we were filmed, there were cameras, so he couldn’t be nasty.”
Those remarks differ from what several others have said about Djokovic. However, that does not mean Marie’s story is untrue since some players might have different experiences with certain figures on the ATP Tour.
Djokovic is currently preparing to play at the 2025 Miami Open, his first appearance at the tournament since 2019. He will be joined once again by Andy Murray, who agreed to stay as the Serbian’s coach after debuting at the Australian Open.
Despite being a few months away, Djokovic’s bright 2025 French Open outfit was recently revealed to fans.
