Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has accepted an apology from Nine’s Tony Jones after feeling “disrespected” by comments made during a live TV interaction with Serbian fans on Friday night.
“Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested, and is now moving on and focusing on his next match,” a statement released by Tennis Australia said.
The controversy arose after Djokovic bypassed the traditional post-match on-court interview with Jim Courier following his fourth-round win against Jiri Lehecka. Instead, he made a brief statement to the crowd before leaving the court, later explaining his decision during a press conference.
Djokovic explains his decision
Speaking to the media, Djokovic revealed that remarks made by Jones on Nine News had offended him and Serbian fans. He clarified that his decision to skip the interview was not personal towards Courier or the Australian public but a response to the network.
“Couple days ago the famous sports journalist (Tony Jones) 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,” Djokovic said. “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.”
Djokovic admitted it was a difficult situation to address on-court, saying, “It was a very awkward situation for me to face. It’s unfortunate I chose to say something to the crowd, but obviously wasn’t the time and space to explain fully.”
Tony Jones issues public apology
On Monday morning, Tony Jones used Channel 9’s The Today Show to publicly apologise, acknowledging that his comments had been misinterpreted.
“Unfortunately, my ‘humour’ the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak. That was certainly not the case,” Jones said. “I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament, and this – at least I thought so – was a continuation of that. At no point did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak, and I apologise. There was certainly no intention to offend him.”
Jones also revealed that he had privately apologised to Djokovic’s camp 48 hours before the tennis star’s on-court boycott, after being informed by Tennis Australia that his comments had caused upset.
“I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology for any disrespect Novak felt,” Jones said. “The comments were made as banter, but I now understand they were perceived differently.”
The incident has ignited debate about the importance of cultural sensitivity and the role of humour in sports broadcasting. Djokovic, who has faced strained relations with sections of the Australian media in the past, was praised by fans for standing up for his values and his community.
“Tennis is about bringing people together, not dividing them,” Djokovic said in his press conference, reiterating his desire to move forward from the situation.