Australian broadcaster Tony Jones has apologized to Novak Djokovic after the tennis star called him out for what he said were comments offensive to both Djokovic himself and Serbian fans.
"I considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do," Jones, who works for Channel 9, said of his remarks. "Having said that, I was made aware ... that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments. As such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them—this was 48 hours ago—for any disrespect that Novak felt, that I had caused. And as I stand here now, I can only stand by that apology to Novak if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does."
Jones said that that disrespect was then extended to Djokovic's Serbian supporters, with whom he felt he had built up a "nice rapport" previously, but "quite clearly that hasn't been interpreted that way. So I do feel as though I have let down the Serbian fans."
The broadcast channel issued its own apology, as well: “Nine would like to apologize to Novak Djokovic for any offense caused from comments made during a recent live cross. No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans,” the statement read.
During an on-air appearance at the Australian Open on Friday, Jones was seen as mocking a crowd of cheering Serbian fans by calling Djokovic overrated and a has-been. As a result, the 24-time Grand Slam champion declined to participate in a customary post-match interview following his fourth-round win on Sunday.
Tony I’m surprised, especially as you work for the host broadcaster, that you would send up a bunch of Aussies (with European heritage) having a good time celebrating their 10 time AO champion… trying to be funny mate? pic.twitter.com/2TohnWTNZ8
— 🎗️ Paul McNamee (@PaulFMcNamee) January 17, 2025
“Couple days ago, the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster Channel 9 here in Australia made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” Djokovic explained at his mandatory press conference following the win. “And 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.”
The 37-year-old then clarified that he has "nothing against" broadcaster Jim Courier, with whom he would have interviewed after the match, nor the Australian public. "It was a very awkward situation for me to face on the court today. It's unfortunate I chose to say something to the crowd, but obviously wasn't the time and space or situation for me to explain what I'm doing right now. I leave it to Channel 9 to handle this the way they think they see fit. That's all.”
He later posted a video to social media reiterating what he said before and further explaining himself.
A few words about what happened on court. pic.twitter.com/jRof2npiwH
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 19, 2025
As of 8 p.m. ET Sunday evening, Djokovic had yet to comment on Jones's apology. He will play his next match in the tournament against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Australian Broadcaster Issues Apology to Tennis Star Novak Djokovic.
