An Australian TV presenter has publicly apologised to Novak Djokovic and Serbian tennis fans after the 10-time Australian Open champion boycotted his post-match interview on Sunday.
Djokovic revealed afterwards that his decision not to answer on-court questions in the customary manner following his fourth-round victory over Jiri Lehecka was in protest at comments made on host broadcaster Channel 9 by Tony Jones.
Jones mocked a group of chanting Djokovic fans behind him ahead of the Serbian’s third-round match by singing: “Novak is overrated, Novak’s a has-been, Novak kick him out.”
Speaking at his press conference on Sunday, Djokovic said Jones had “made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me”.
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He added: “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.”
Jones addressed the incident ahead of the start of play on Monday, insisting he had apologised privately to Djokovic and that his remarks were meant to be humorous.
“I was made aware on the Saturday morning from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments,” said Jones.
“As such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them for any disrespect that Novak felt that I’d caused. I stand by that apology to Novak.
“I should also say the disrespect was extended, I guess, to the Serbian fans. We’ve built up a nice rapport with the Serbian fans, they come here with the flags and they provide so much colour and so much passion and there was banter.
“I thought what I was doing was an extension of that banter. Quite clearly that hasn’t been interpreted that way. I do feel I’ve let down the Serbian fans.
“It has been an unfortunate situation, it’s been one of personal angst for Novak, it’s quite clearly personal angst for me as well, but I just think the priority here now is to focus on the tennis again.
“He’s got an amazing match tomorrow night against Carlos Alcaraz and I hope his focus can now be on that.”
Djokovic appears likely to change his stance, should he pull off victory over Alcaraz on Tuesday, with a Tennis Australia spokesperson saying: “Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested and is now moving on and focusing on his next match.”
Former Wimbledon finalist Pat Rafter believes the row could play in the Serbian’s favour, saying: “I think Novak’s in a pretty good head space, he’s nice and angry. He plays his best tennis when he’s angry.”
The 37-year-old won his first slam meeting with Alcaraz in the French Open semi-finals in 2023 but the Spaniard responded a month later by winning his first Wimbledon title, and repeated the feat last summer.
Djokovic claimed another major victory in the Olympic final in their most recent meeting, though, while he has won both their previous hard-court matches.
Melbourne Park has been the most successful venue of the Serbian’s career, and he has won six titles since his last defeat in the quarter-finals 11 years ago.
Alcaraz is bidding to make it past the last eight here for the first time, and the 21-year-old said: “If I think about everything he has done in tennis, I couldn’t play.
“I mean, 24 grand slams, the most weeks at number one, everything. He almost broke every record in tennis. I’m trying not to think about that when I’m in the match. I’m just trying (to think) that I’m able to beat him.”
Djokovic started the tournament slowly but has been impressive in back-to-back victories over Czech duo Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka.
He likened taking on Alcaraz to facing his old rival Rafael Nadal, saying: “I’m expecting a big battle, as is the case in most of our matches where we faced each other.
“It reminds me of my match-ups versus Nadal in terms of the intensity and the energy on the court. He’s a very dynamic, explosive player. Incredibly talented. Charismatic player. Great to watch – not that great to play against.
“I look forward to it. I think, when the draw was out, a lot of the people were looking forward to a potential match-up in the quarter-finals, Alcaraz versus me. So here we are.
“I think we both are hitting the ball pretty well this tournament. I like the way I’m playing and the way I’m feeling the last couple of matches. I’m excited about that challenge.”
