Novak Djokovic has always suffered from not being loved like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have won less than him but have made greater inroads into the hearts of fans around the world. There is no doubt that the Serbian ace has often had the courage to express unpopular opinions making himself more disliked than the Swiss and the Spaniard but at the same time some of his behaviors have damaged his image.
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A few days ago during an Instagram live ATP ace Jules Marie harshly criticized the 24-time Grand Slam champion for the way he treated him during practice sessions at 2021 Roland Garros.
The current world number 461 was Nole's sparring partner in that edition of the French Open and told how the Serbian's attitude was not very respectful towards him, describing a very tense and irascible version of Djokovic.
Jules Marie on Djokovic again
Subsequently, Marie had the opportunity to practice other times with the former world number 1 after becoming quite famous thanks to his YouTube channel.
"We played together at the Australian Open some time later, but I no longer had sparring partner status and was a full-fledged player. The situation had changed compared to 2021 Roland Garros" - said Jules.
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"Nole knew my YouTube channel, our practice session was filmed, there were cameras and he couldn't have behaved horribly," he added.
Returning to current events, the 37-year-old from Belgrade has not particularly shone in the first two and a half months of the 2025 season.
With the exception of the semifinal reached at the Australian Open in which he had to retire due to a thigh injury Novak has only collected disappointments in the other three tournaments played.
His recent performance against Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 worried his fans, as did his words at the end of the match.
The former world No. 1 will play the Miami Open for the first time in six years.
