Tony Jones apologizes to Novak Djokovic after ‘insulting and offensive’ comments at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — The presenter behind Novak Djokovic’s decision to boycott on-court interviews at the Australian Open has apologized to the 24-time Grand Slam champion, saying he had “exceeded the boundaries “.

Channel 9 presenter Tony Jones towered over a group of Serbian fans as he recorded a dispatch from Melbourne Park on Friday evening. Joining in their chants of support for Djokovic, he added his own words: “Novak is overrated… Novak is a hasbeen… Novak kicks him out.” »

The “deport him” comment appeared to refer to when Djokovic was deported from Australia ahead of the 2022 tournament, after the government canceled his visa due to Covid-19 protocols.

“I considered it humor,” Jones said in a segment on the Channel 9 morning show.

Tennis Australia released a statement on Monday afternoon confirming that Djokovic had received the apology.

“Novak acknowledges that the apology was made publicly as requested and that he is now moving on and focusing on his next match,” the statement said.

Jones also claimed he apologized to Djokovic’s camp on Saturday morning, before publicly apologizing on air.

He added: “The disrespect extended in many ways to the Serbian fans… I thought what I was doing was an extension of this joke. Obviously what I was doing wasn’t being interpreted that way.

“I know we all have PhDs looking back… I think the only thing I crossed the line on – and that’s definitely what really irritated Novak Djokovic and his camp – was the last comment that I did in this back and forth with the crowd, “Kick him out.”

Jones then claimed he had asked Djokovic’s camp for a face-to-face meeting to discuss his comments.

Djokovic’s camp did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jones’ claim that he had apologized on Saturday. A member of his team said Athletics that any head-to-head meeting would be Djokovic’s decision, but the suggestion is that would be unlikely at this stage of a major tournament.

The situation between Jones and Djokovic worsened after Djokovic’s fourth-round victory over Jiri Lehecka at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night, when Djokovic refused to have an on-court interview with former player Jim Courier. When he entered his post-match press conference, he explained that the boycott was prompted by what he called “insulting and offensive” comments from Jones.

“A few days ago, the famous sports journalist who works for the official Channel 9 here in Australia, made fun of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me. And since then, he has chosen not to make any public apology. Neither does Channel 9. As they are official channels, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9,” he said.

Djokovic will return to Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday for his quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz. He has yet to respond to Jones’ apology.

“How will this affect Djokovic on the court?”

Analysis by tennis writer Charlie Eccleshare

For someone who is never more dangerous than when he speaks out against injustice, whether perceived or real, this row will impact Djokovic’s bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

If you were Carlos Alcaraz, would you want to face Djokovic as he enters Rod Laver Arena with a burning sense of injustice?

Djokovic played down the idea that Jones’ comments would add motivation over the coming days, but the passion with which he spoke about the incident underlined how much it upset him. Djokovic is an extremely proud Serbian – he said winning Olympic gold in Paris last year against Alcaraz was the pinnacle of his career – and he relishes playing in an atmosphere where he is both a hero and a villain to some viewers.

His coach, Andy Murray, said before the tournament that having a little fire on the court was not a bad thing, and that is often the case with Djokovic.

Perhaps less helpful was how quickly Jones apologized and the problem was seemingly resolved. Fans booed off the field when he refused his on-field interview after beating Lehecka, and at that point it was like he was entering pantomime villain territory. Fans will now be more understanding, and the deflation of tension could have an impact on the feverish atmosphere when he faces Alcaraz on Tuesday.

Djokovic wants to win this title so badly that the incident may ultimately have little impact, but that seems impossible now that he will come out flat against Alcaraz as he did against Jannik Sinner in the semi-final here ago at 12 months.

(Photo: Andy Cheung/Getty Images)