Novak Djokovic was 'BARELY BREATHING' when he crashed out of Indian Wells

Djokovic crashed out of the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in California earlier this week in straight sets.

The Serbian was accused of missing his coach Marian Vajda during the whole tournament but particularly as he lost 6-4, 6-4 to German world number 39 Kohlschreiber.

Djokovic broke his racket in anger after his opponent took the first set and never looked himself on court.

And speaking on Sky Sports in his role as a pundit, former world number 25 Volandri gave his take on Djokovic.

"He physically struggled, he was barely breathing and he was hitting flat shots,” Volandri said.

“He was playing being far away from the baseline, which gave the German many chances to win rallies.

“Considering that he did not earn points at last year's Indian Wells and Miami, it's nothing too bad but he needs to make a difference in the Grand Slams and Masters 1000s.”

Djokovic currently sits top of the world rankings and has won the last three grand slams - the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon.

And Volandri was pleased to see the 31-year-old playing with a smile on his face when he returned to action in the doubles.

"It's nice to see Novak being still smiley and joking during the doubles match with Fabio,” he added.

“That's good for them because there is plenty of time left prior to the Miami Open."

Ex-British No 1 Rusedski was harsher in his assessment of Djokovic, asking questions of his coach Marian Vajda.

He said: “Where is Marian Vajda? Forty-two days away from a singles match.

“I know myself, I want that comfort blanket of that coach who tells me exactly what to do.

“If things aren’t going well on the court you see Novak looking to Marian on many occasions.

“He knows what he needs to do. It felt like he needed that influence for this week, more so than next week.”