Novak Djokovic declined to be interviewed after his Australian Open match on Sunday because of some remarks a television host made toward Serbian fans, and the host has now issued a public apology.
Following his win over Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at Melbourne Park, Djokovic refused to conduct an on-court interview with Jim Courier of Channel 9. Djokovic instead borrowed the microphone from Courier and thanked the fans in attendance for their support before walking off.
“Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your presence and support, and I’ll see you next round. Thank you very much,” Djokovic said.
Well… that was unexpected. pic.twitter.com/T9gg7o7tnU
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 19, 2025
Djokovic later shared a video on social media in which he explained that he chose not to do an interview with Channel 9 because of the way longtime on-air personality Tony Jones acted toward Serbian fans earlier in the week. Djokovic said he would not conduct an interview with the network until Jones publicly apologized.
“The reason why I chose not to do that is because a few days ago, a famous sports journalist here from Australia who works for a main broadcaster of the Australian Open, Channel 9, decided to mock Serbian fans and he made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” Djokovic said. “So, I was hoping he’s going to apologize in public, which he hasn’t done yet. Neither did Channel 9, so that’s the only reason why I didn’t do the interview.”
A few words about what happened on court. pic.twitter.com/jRof2npiwH
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 19, 2025
Jones was reporting live on the air from Melbourne Park on Friday when he mocked a group of Serbian fans. The fans were cheering behind Jones, and Jones turned around to call the 24-time Grand Slam champion “overrated.” Jones also said “Novak, kick him out,” which seemed to be a reference to when Djokovic was not allowed to compete because he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Novak Djokovic says he will no longer do court interviews at the Australian Open until Channel Nine apologise for this video.pic.twitter.com/tZimXQKRiJ
— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) January 19, 2025
After Djokovic boycotted the Channel 9 interview and revealed the reason why, Jones apologized on the air. The host said he regretted his comments toward Serbian fans and that he “considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do.” Jones also acknowledged that his “kick him out” quip was a reference to when Djokovic was banned from Australia.
Jones said had already apologized to Djokovic two days prior.
“Now. As such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them. So this is 48 hours ago for any disrespect that Novak felt that I’d caused. And as I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak,” Jones said, via The Tennis Letter. “If he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does now, I should also say the disrespect was extended, I guess in many ways to the Serbian fans.”
Djokovic is getting set for a big showdown against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday. Time will tell if he feels Jones’ apology was sufficient.
