"Away from the cameras, Djokovic is a hypocrite"

No time? blue News summarizes for you

• In a podcast, French tennis player Jules Marie called Novak Djokovic hypocritical when he's not in the spotlight.
• During training for Roland Garros 2021, Marie described the Serb's behavior as disrespectful and presumptuous and recounted episodes in which the Serb refused to play certain balls and behaved contemptuously.
• A year later, at the Australian Open, the Frenchman noticed a drastic change in Djokovic's behavior, which was more correct thanks to the presence of the cameras.

Summary created with

The year 2025 did not begin under the best of auspices for Novak Djokovic. At the Australian Open, he had to forfeit in the semi-final against Alexander Zverev. The Serbian then failed in his opening matches in both Doha and Indian Wells.

The man from Belgrade is therefore struggling on the court. Now he is receiving harsh criticism from a fellow tennis player. French tennis player Jules Marie, who was still ranked 203rd in the world last year - he is currently ranked 461st - had a bone to pick with the current world number 5.

In an Instagram post for the "Match Point" podcast, the 33-year-old spoke about a different side of Nole and even called him "fake" when he wasn't in the spotlight or in front of the camera.

The Frenchman - who is also known for his highly regarded YouTube channel (130,000 subscribers), on which he reports on the "real life of a professional tennis player" - talks first-hand about his experiences as a sparring partner of the 24-time Grand Slam winner and described his behavior in training as disrespectful and presumptuous.

Jules Marie in action.

Imago

A bad attitude

Marie says that he teamed up with Djokovic in preparation for Roland Garros 2021, but the five training sessions as a sparring partner with the Serb were not a pleasant experience: "It was bad every time. It's a ride on the razor's edge with him. If you play a ball even one and a half meters away from him, he doesn't play it and looks at you as if to say: 'If you do that again, I'll throw you out,'" the Caen-born player revealed.

He then recalled a particularly bizarre episode. "I served once and he didn't react. He told me: 'My coach has to serve, not you'. So his coach served, I played the ball back and he then shot the ball 50 meters into the air. I never understood why. It was really unpleasant," Marie explained, implying that the then number 1 was being deliberately disrespectful.

A different person in front of the cameras

What surprised the Frenchman even more was the drastic change in his colleague's attitude when they met at the Australian Open the following year. On this occasion, he was no longer just a sparring partner, but a player taking part in the major tournament.

According to him, the presence of the cameras made Djokovic much more aware of his behavior and appearance: "He knew that I had my YouTube channel and that we were also being filmed. He couldn't afford to be out of line," says the 33-year-old, who is convinced that the Serbian champion is a completely different person when he is in front of the camera.

Of course, the Frenchman's statements about the tennis star's character only show one side of the coin. Jules Maire deliberately puts himself in the limelight with his public criticism. In addition, Djokovic's intensity - both in the match and in training - is certainly an important factor in his success. His new coach Andy Murray also emphasized. "The best players take it seriously and they want to improve, and that's not always easy. It's challenging, but it's extremely rewarding when you make a breakthrough in training and something feels a little bit better."