“I don’t see anything, tell me what to do?” A frustrated Novak Djokovic shouts at coach before his Serbian Open match

Novak Djokovic and Goran Ivanisevic

World No.1 Novak Djokovic is going through a tough phase in his career. Djokovic has been out of form lately, losing the opener of Monte-Carlo masters to the debutant and eventual runner-up, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He will be looking to defend his French Open title at the Roland Garros this year. For that, he needs as much practice as he can get. That’s why Djokovic is playing a series of tournaments in preparation for the Grand Slam.

His latest tournament, the Serbia Open, is a tournament he has won two times. He is a favorite despite his rough patch, as he is the No.1 ranked player in the world. Despite of being in the best shape possible, Djokovic showed all his character to defeat Djere 2-6 7-6 7-6 in a marathon Serbian Open first-round encounter.

Djokovic does not feel “confident”

The situation Novak has been through these past few months must have taken a toll on his mental well-being. Tennis is an extremely hard sport, not just because of its intense physical demand, but also because it takes a lot of mental strength. With the dismal performances and the pressure to perform, and the self-loathing of not performing up to the mark, Novak is clearly frustrated. And apparently, this was also visible during his pre-match practice session at Belgrade.

FS Video

Novak Djokovic comes back to beat Laslo Djere 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to reach the QFs in Belgrade. Now 3-2 in 2022.

That error from Djere at *4-3 in the tiebreak. My god!
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) April 20, 2022

Novak was training with Aslan Karachev while his team members including his coach, Goran Ivanisevic were watching. There was dust everywhere due to the windy conditions, and Novak was not finding his rhythm. He kept calling for his towels after every point. He was still unhappy with both his play and the conditions. He finally screamed at Ivanisevic,

“Please, tell me what to do, I can’t see a thing,” Novak says his coach.

Novak was clearly talking about his training session, but his outburst might be an indicator of a bigger problem Novak is facing, and that might be his lack of confidence.