Novak Djokovic rages at Australian Open broadcaster over anchorman’s comments

Novak Djokovic has put himself at odds with Australian Open‘s host broadcaster by refusing to give any more on-field interviews until he receives an apology from anchor Tony Jones.

The move was prompted by Djokovic’s disgust at a bizarre 15-second piece to camera that Jones had performed on Channel Nine the Friday after Djokovic’s previous win over Tomas Machac.

As the Serbian fans chanted in support of Djokovic in the garden area outside Rod Laver Arena, Jones looked over the gathered flags and said: “Back to Melbourne Park where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans there in full voice. Yes, their chants are absolutely extraordinary. “Novak, he is overrated! Novak has been! Novak, throw him out!’ Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me.”

In the interview room after his fourth-round win, Djokovic gave a statement explaining that he refused to answer questions from interviewer Jim Courier on the court.

“A few days ago, the famous sports journalist who works for the official broadcaster Channel Nine made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments to me,” Djokovic said. “And since then he chose not to give any public apology. Neither did Channel Nine. So, as they are official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews to Channel Nine.”

An hour or so earlier, Djokovic’s refusal to do the conventional post-match interview had drawn some boos from the 15,000 fans at Rod Laver Arena.

After completing his straightforward 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, Djokovic had taken the microphone from the Courier and made a brief statement – ​​“Thank you very much for being here tonight, I appreciate your presence and support, see you in the next round” – before stalking out of the stadium.

At the time, it was believed that he had been reacting to a perceived hostility from the fans. There had been a moment, late in the third set, when he complained to umpire Mohamed Lahyani that “they’re doing it on purpose, it’s so obvious”.

But whatever Djokovic noticed, it wasn’t so obvious to others. Later, in the interview room, he was asked if he had been annoyed by the crowd. “Nothing that really stands out or extraordinary,” he replied. “Every game something different happens. I’ve already explained myself why I didn’t give an interview is not for the audience, it was for the Channel Nine situation.”

Even more strangely, it turns out that Jones had already issued an apology to Serbian website Sports Club. He was quoted on Saturday as saying: “Unfortunately my ‘humor’ the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak. It certainly wasn’t. I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament and this is – at least I thought I that – a continuation of that.

“If you watch our morning show, you get an idea of ​​how we work. At no time did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak and I apologize – there was certainly no intention to offend him.”

It was the second time in less than 24 hours that Jones had been discussed in the interview room in a less than flattering manner. The previous case had involved Danielle Collins, the American player who Jones had described as “a brat” for baiting fans and beating her own rear on Thursday night.

“I love this old guy, Tony Jones,” Collins said sarcastically after her third round exit at the hands of Madison Keys. “Apologies (to) everybody in the room who’s over, like, 70. I just love how he called me a brat. It’s just so Gen Z and Millennial right now with Charli XCX (the singer who made the word ‘brat’ a slogan last year).”

Gaffes from Australian frontmen are not unknown at this tournament. The 2013 presentation ceremony featured a memorable line from master of ceremonies Sandy Gordon, who introduced runner-up Li Na with the words “She’s bruised, she’s bruised, and she’s possibly confused.”

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