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

MELBOURNE, Australia – The presenter at the center of Novak Djokovic’s decision to boycott on-court interviews at the Australian Open has apologized to the 24-time Grand Slam champion, saying he “overstepped the mark.”

Channel 9 presenter Tony Jones overlooked a group of Serbian fans while filming a broadcast from Melbourne Park on Friday night. He joined their chants in support of Djokovic, adding his own lyrics: “Novak is overrated … Novak is a has-been … Novak throw him out.”

The “kick him out” 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 took it as humor,” Jones said in a segment on Channel 9’s morning show.

Tennis Australia issued a statement on Monday afternoon confirming Djokovic’s receipt of the apology.

“Novak acknowledges that the apology has been made publicly as requested and will now move on and focus on his next fight,” it said.

Jones also claimed he apologized to Djokovic’s camp on Saturday morning before issuing the public apology on air.

He added: “The respect extended in many ways to the Serbian fans … I thought what I did was an extension of that banter. Obviously, what I did was not interpreted that way.

“I know we all have PhDs in hindsight … I think the one thing where I overstepped the mark – and that’s certainly what has really angered Novak Djokovic and his camp — is the last comment I made in that 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 apologized on Saturday. A member of his team told Athletics that any face-to-face encounter would be Djokovic’s call, but the suggestion is that it would be unlikely at this stage of a major.

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

“A few days ago, the famous sports journalist who works for the official TV station, Channel 9 here in Australia, made fun of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments to me. And since then he chose not to give any public apology. Neither did Channel 9. So as they are official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews to Channel 9,” he said.

Djokovic returns 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 from tennis writer Charlie Eccleshare

For someone who is never more dangerous than when raging against an injustice, whether perceived or real, this streak will affect 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 next few days, but the passion with which he spoke about the incident underlined how much it has upset him. Djokovic is an extremely proud Serb – he said winning the Olympic gold in Paris last year against Alcaraz was the pinnacle of his career – and he enjoys playing in an atmosphere where he is both hero and villain to some of the crowd.

His coach, Andy Murray, said before the tournament that it’s no bad thing to have a bit of fire on the court, and that’s often the case with Djokovic.

The speed with which Jones has apologized and the problem has apparently been resolved may be less helpful. Fans booed off the field when he refused his on-field interview after punching Lehecka, and at the time it felt like he was entering pantomime villain territory. Fans will now be more understanding and the deflation of tension could affect the fever of the atmosphere when he meets Alcaraz on Tuesday.

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

(Photo: Andy Cheung/Getty Images)