The Australian broadcaster has apologized to Novak Djokovic after the 24-time Grand Slam champion condemned his on-air remarks as “offensive and insulting”.
Channel Nine’s Tony Jones made the comments during a live segment at the Australian Open on Friday, shouting, “Novak, he’s overrated, Novak’s one of his friends, Novak kick him out” to Djokovic’s fans.
In response, Djokovic refused to take part in his usual on-court interview after his fourth-round win over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, citing Channel Nine’s role as the tournament’s official broadcaster.
In a press conference, the 37-year-old Serbian star said Jones “had made fun of the Serbian fans and also made offensive and insulting comments towards me”, describing the situation as “very embarrassing”.
On Monday, Jones addressed the controversy, stating that he had already apologized to Djokovic via Tennis Australia two days prior.
“I thought of it as mockery and humor—in line with what I do,” Jones said. “However, I was informed that Novak’s camp was not happy at all. I immediately contacted them and apologized.”
He admitted his “kick him out” remark, which some interpreted as a reference to Djokovic’s expulsion from 2022 due to Australia’s Covid-19 regulations, may have escalated tensions.
The Serbian Council of Australia called for Jones to be sacked, calling his comments “offensive, racist and only serving to incite further discrimination against Serbs in Australia”.
Channel Nine also issued an apology, stating: “No harm was intended for Novak or his fans.”
Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open champion, is set to face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Tennis Australia has confirmed that Djokovic has acknowledged the public apology and is now focused on his next match.
Novak Djokovic announced on Sunday that he will no longer take part in on-court interviews at the Australian Open after accusing a top host host of making “abusive comments” about him and the Serb.
The 10-times Melbourne champion had just secured a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win over Jiri Lehecka to reach the quarter-finals when he refused to do the usual post-match interview.
Instead, he took the microphone from interviewer Jim Courier, made a brief statement thanking the crowd and went to a barrage of boos.
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