"Novak Djokovic was nasty" - Serb's former hitting partner makes shocking accusations addressing their sessions together

French tennis star Jules Marie, who previously served as Novak Djokovic’s hitting partner, recently made shocking accusations about their past training sessions. Marie criticized the Serbian champion for displaying awful behavior on the practice court.

Despite the 24-time Grand Slam champion being one of the most respected figures in tennis history, Marie alleged noticeable differences in Djokovic’s demeanor on and off camera.

The 33-year-old French tennis pro, who has a sizeable YouTube following of 130,000 subscribers, criticized the Serb for his unfriendly behavior off-camera. In a session of Match Point on Instagram, which aired on March 17, Marie shared his experience sparring with Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open.

Marie recalled that the Serbian star consistently displayed an unpleasant attitude during their interactions and described him as “nasty” in the way he acted behind the scenes.

"When I was a sparring partner at Roland Garros, I played five times with Djokovic, and he was nasty all five times," Marie claimed (via the Daily Express).

The Frenchman also mentioned another tense encounter with the Serb.

"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," he noted.

However, Marie noted a significant change in Djokovic’s behavior during the following year’s Australian Open, suggesting that the presence of cameras helped keep his “nasty” demeanor in check. He further added:

"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."

After his unexpected exit from Indian Wells two weeks ago, Novak Djokovic is set to compete in the 2025 Miami Open.

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Novak Djokovic to play in 2025 Miami Open next after surprise Indian Wells exit

Novak Djokovic at BNP Paribas Open - Day 4 - Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic is set to compete in the 2025 Miami Open presented by Itau after his shocking first-round exit from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The Serb faced off against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round of the ATP 1000 Masters tournament but fell short in a hard-fought three-set battle.

On March 21, Novak Djokovic will take on Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in the round of 64 at the Miami Open. The two have faced each other once before, with Djokovic leading their head-to-head record 1-0 after defeating Hijikata in straight sets in the first round of the 2025 Brisbane International.