Australian broadcaster Tony Jones has apologized to Novak Djokovic and Serbian tennis fans for comments he made on television on Friday night which the 37-year-old found “insulting and insulting”.
Djokovic refused to do the usual on-court interview following his fourth-round win over Jiri Lehecko on Sunday pending a public apology from Jones and Australian broadcast rights holders Channel 9.
The 10-time Australian Open champion revealed in his post-match press conference that his anger was directed not at the crowd but at the broadcaster following an incident ahead of his third-round match when host Jones taunted a group of chanting Djokovic fans behind him. who gathered outside the cabin in Melbourne Park on Friday, chanting: “Novak is overrated, Novak was, Novak kick him out”.
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Novak Djokovic has explained that he will boycott on-court interviews at the Australian Open until he receives an apology from Australian TV station Channel 9
In an interview with the channel on Monday, Jones said he thought the comments were a “banter” and immediately apologized privately to the “Djokovic camp” after realizing they had not been taken with humour.
“I can stand behind that apology to Novak,” he said. “I should also say that the disrespect was transferred to the Serbian fans in many ways.
“We made a good relationship with the Serbian fans and there was banter, and I thought that what I was doing was an extension of that banter. Quite clearly that is not how it was interpreted.
“I feel like I let Serbian fans down.” Jones said one comment he particularly regretted was “kick him out”, which he accepted could only be interpreted as a reference to Djokovic's subsequent deportation from Australia due to his Covid vaccination status in early 2022.
“That pissed off Novak, which I totally understand now,” Jones said.
“It was an unfortunate situation, it was one of Novak's personal anxieties, that's quite clear for me as well.”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from seventh-seeded Djokovic, who plays Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Djokovic said on Sunday that he had not received a public apology from the broadcaster and would continue to boycott them until he did.
Djokovic later posted a message on social media in which he repeated why he refused to speak.
“A few days ago, a well-known sports journalist who works for the official broadcaster, Channel 9 here in Australia, mocked Serbian fans and also made offensive and insulting comments towards me,” Djokovic said.
“And since then he has decided not to issue any public apology. Neither has Channel 9. So, as they are the official broadcasters, I have decided not to give interviews to Channel 9.
“I have nothing against Jim Courier or the Australian public. It was a very awkward situation for me to face on the field today. Unfortunately. I decided to say something to the crowd, but obviously there was no time and space or situation to explain what I was doing at the moment.
“I leave it to Channel 9 to handle this as they see fit.”
Former Wimbledon finalist Pat Rafter believes the dispute could work in the Serb's favour, saying: “I think Novak is in a pretty good space, he's nice and angry. He plays his best tennis when he's angry.”
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