An Australian TV presenter at the heart of Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open interview row apologised for his remarks but insisted they have been ‘misinterpreted’.
Djokovic has launched a dramatic boycott of on-court media duties in Melbourne until he receives an apology from Channel 9, the host broadcaster.
He believes reporter Tony Jones ‘made a mockery’ of Serbian spectators at the tournament and described his comments as ‘insulting and offensive’.
On Friday, Jones was presenting in front of a group of Djokovic supporters at Melbourne Park. ‘Welcome back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans, they’re in full voice,’ Jones said. ‘The chants are quite extraordinary.’
He then turned to face them and pantomimed some sledging chants of his own.
‘Novak, he’s overrated,’ Jones sang. ‘Novak’s a has-been. Novak, kick him out. Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me. Anyway, let’s get on to the tennis.’
Novak Djokovic will boycott Australian Open on-court interviews after ‘insulting’ remarks
Djokovic issued a brief message to the crowd after beating Jiri Lehecka in the third round
The Serb wants an apology from Channel 9 after controversial comments from Tony Jones
His behaviour triggered a fierce backlash and the 63-year-old broke his silence on the controversy after being contacted by Serbian publication Sport Klub.
‘Unfortunately, my “humor” the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak,’ he said. ‘That was certainly not the case. I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament and this is – at least I thought so – a continuation of that.
‘If you watch our morning show, you’ll get an idea of how we work.
‘At no point did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak and I apologise – there was certainly no intention to offend him.’
After Djokovic’s straight-sets win over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, which set up a mouthwatering quarter-final tie against Carlos Alcaraz, he was approached by former world No 1 Jim Courier for the traditional on-court interview.
Djokovic, the 10-time champion, took the microphone and said: ‘Thank you very much for being here tonight, I appreciate your presence and the support. I’ll see you in the next round.’ He then marched off to sign autographs.
He was soon seen in conversation with Australian Open boss Craig Tilley, and began his post-match press conference with a prepared statement.
‘Good evening,’ he said. ‘I would like to just clarify the reason why the interview was not conducted on the court, the post-match interview, like it’s a common practice.
He believes Jones ‘made a mockery’ of Serbian spectators at the tournament
Djokovic later clarified his stance in his post-match press conference in Melbourne
His win over Lehecka set up a blockbuster quarter-final tie against Carlos Alcaraz
‘A couple of days ago the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster, Channel 9 here in Australia, made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me.
‘And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology. Neither did Channel 9. So since they’re official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9.
‘I have nothing against Jim Courier or the Australian public. It was a very awkward situation for me to face on the court today. It’s unfortunate.
‘I chose to say something to the crowd, but obviously it wasn’t the time and space or situation for me to explain what I’m doing right now.
‘I leave it to Channel 9 to handle this the way they think they see fit. That’s all.’
According to Courier, players are under ‘no obligation’ to participate in on-court interviews, so a fine for Djokovic appears unlikely.
Mail Sport have approached Channel 9 for comment.
