Novak Djokovic's axed fitness coach who he 'screamed at' makes telling admission about him

Marco Panichi has praised his time working with Novak Djokovic, despite often being on the receiving end of his on-court outbursts. The Italian tennis coach joined Djokovic's team in 2017 and helped guide the Serbian star to 12 of his 24 Grand Slam championships.

Djokovic boasts the all-time record for men's major singles titles and will be aiming to win his eighth Wimbledon title this summer, having lost to Carlos Alcaraz in each of the last two finals. The 38-year-old briefly hired Andy Murray as a coach after making major changes to his entourage last year. He parted ways with coach Goran Ivanisevic last March before announcing his split from fitness specialist Panichi, who admitted to occasionally riling up Djokovic to bring the best out of him.

"Nole makes his ability to compete directly proportional to needing a figurative enemy to fight against," Panichi explained in an interview with well-being coach . "When we saw him too emotionally flat, we volunteered to make him angry so that Slavic warrior would come out.

"For example, I'd say: 'Move those feet; today you look like a grandma!' And he'd go crazy." This follows an earlier admission from Panichi that he never took any of their fiery exchanges to heart.

"You see, we knew that it was nothing personal, we knew that sometimes he needed that (to release his anger) in order to play at his best," he told Sportal in 2024. "We knew how his mind worked when to tell him something and when not to say anything. He's the type of player that sometimes needs that.

"With a player of his size, there is always stress. You have to deal not only with him but also with the whole organisation - a player like him represents the industry for himself, that's the source of stress. Also, an elite tennis player like him always asks you for more, more and more. It's part of the game."

Panichi confessed that when he first observed Djokovic as a teenager, he was not naturally more gifted than his rivals. Instead, the Serbian's dedication to the sport and willingness to adapt saw him succeed, as Panichi learned first-hand when he joined his coaching staff.

"When I saw him as a child, at 13 or 14 years old, he played well but wasn't as impressive as other kids I've seen," Panichi told Gambardella. "Novak's talent was also that healthy obsession with wanting to improve.

"He was someone who lived tennis 24 hours a day. If he read something he thought could be useful for his tennis, the first thing he did was investigate it or call me. Do you know how many times he sent me messages at night because he'd seen something and said, 'Marco, check this because I think it could help us?'"

Djokovic's former coach has since teamed up with world No.1 Jannik Sinner and Panichi noted the pair's similarities. "Novak was someone who lived tennis 24/7. Jannik is the same," Panichi admitted. "In a slightly different way, Sinner also lives for tennis. He's just as competitive in training.

"That's how he has fun. All the great champions are like that. They're people who enjoy doing what they love. Of course, it depends on the moment. But deep down, there's always the thrill of competition."

Sinner has won his last four matches against Djokovic, including two since hiring Panichi last September. Their most recent meeting saw Sinner progress to the French Open final and they could meet again at Wimbledon.