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 habit On-court interview after his fourth-round win over Jiri Lehica on Sunday A public apology is awaited 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 not directed at the crowd but at the broadcaster after an incident before his third-round match when broadcaster Jones mocked a group of Djokovic fans chanting behind him. who gathered outside the broadcast booth at Melbourne Park on Friday, chanting, “Novak is overrated, Novak was, Novak fired him.”
Please use Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player
Novak Djokovic has made it clear he will boycott on-court interviews at the Australian Open until he receives an apology from Australian TV Channel 9.
In an interview with the channel on Monday, Jones said he thought the comments were “joking” and immediately issued a private apology to the “Djokovic camp” once he realized those comments were not taken seriously.
“I can support this apology to Novak,” he said. “I must also say that the disrespect extended, in many ways, to the Serbian fans.
“We built a nice relationship with the Serbian fans, there was banter, and I think what I was doing was an extension of that banter. It’s quite clear that it wasn’t interpreted that way.”
“I feel like I let the Serbian fans down.” Jones said the one comment he particularly regretted was “kick him out”, which he accepted could only be interpreted as a reference to Djokovic’s deportation from Australia over a row over his coronavirus vaccination status in early 2022.
“That made Novak angry, which I completely understand now,” Jones said.
“It was an unfortunate situation, it was a personal concern for Novak, and quite obviously a personal concern for me as well.”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from seventh seed Djokovic, who will face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Djokovic said on Sunday that he had not received a public apology from the broadcaster and would continue to boycott it until he did.
Djokovic later posted a message on social media in which he reiterated his reason for refusing to speak.
“Two days ago, the famous sports journalist who works for Channel 9 here in Australia made fun of Serbian fans and made insulting and offensive comments to me,” Djokovic said.
“Since then, he has chosen not to issue any public apology, nor has Channel Nine. Therefore, as they are official broadcasters, I have chosen not to give interviews to Channel Nine.
“I have nothing against Jim Courier or the Australian public. It was a very embarrassing situation for me to have to face on the field today. It’s unfortunate. I chose to say something to the public, but it was clearly not the time and place for it.” The situation is for me to explain what I am doing now.
“I leave it to Channel Nine to deal with this as they see fit.”
Former Wimbledon finalist Pat Rafter believes the row could play in the Serb’s favour, saying: “I think Novak has a very good headspace, he’s nice and he’s angry. He plays his best when he’s angry.”
Watch the ATP and WTA tours, plus the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or Stream with now and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to more than 50 per cent of live sporting events this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
https://e0.365dm.com/25/01/1600×900/skysports-novak-djokovic-tennis_6804692.jpg?20250120060307