Former world No. 203, French player Jules Marie, has described his experiences working as a sparring partner for 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
According to Marie, during his time as a sparring partner at Roland Garros, he trained with Djokovic on five occasions. He stated that Djokovic consistently displayed poor behavior during these sessions, creating a tense atmosphere.
Marie recounted, “If you hit a shot and he needs to move a meter and a half, he won’t go for the ball, and instead just glares at you as if to say, ‘Do that again, and you’ll be out of here.'”
He also shared another incident: “There was a moment when I tossed the ball for a serve, and he didn’t even attempt to hit it. He said, ‘The coach serves the balls.’ His coach served, I returned it, and then Djokovic launched the ball 50 meters into the air. I don’t know why. It was unpleasant behavior.”
However, Marie noted a contrasting experience at the Australian Open. “At the Australian Open, I was there as a player, not a sparring partner, and everything was different. Also, he knew I had a YouTube channel. We were filming content, so he couldn’t behave terribly then,” Marie stated in an interview with L’Équipe journalist Quentin Moynet, as shared on social media.
