Channel Nine sports journalist Tony Jones has apologised to Novak Djokovic, saying he “overstepped the mark” during a live broadcast last Friday.
Jones’ apology comes after the Serbian tennis star boycotted a traditional on-court interview with the network following his fourth round victory last night.
Context
Last Friday, while speaking to Nine from the Open, Jones turned tofans who were waving Serbian flags and chanting. Jones sang along with his own improvised lyrics.
Jones said: “Novak, he’s over-rated, Novak’s a has-been, Novak, kick him out.”
The last comment has been widely interpreted as referring to the 2022 Australian Open, when Djokovic’s visa was cancelled because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Following a straight-sets victory over Czechia’s Jiří Lehečka last night, Djokovic responded to Jones’ comments by boycotting the traditional on-court interview with Nine commentator Jim Courier.
At a post-match press conference, Djokovic said Jones had “made a mockery of Serbian fans” and had insulted him. He said because Jones and Nine had not made public apologies, he would not give interviews to the network.
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Tony Jones’ apology
Jones appeared on the Today Show this morning to apologise.
He said he had been in touch with Djokovic’s team to apologise on Saturday morning when he was informed his comments, which he intended as “banter” or “humour”, had offended the player.
Jones added: “I stand by that apology to Novak, if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does… I do feel as though I’ve let down the Serbian fans.”
What’s next?
In a post to Facebook, the Serbian Council of Australia announced it had filed a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission over Jones’ comments.
“For Australian-Serbs, the words ‘kick him out’ is akin to saying ‘kick the Serbs out of Australia’ because there is strong evidence of feelings of exclusion due to media reporting about Australian-Serbs in the past,” the Council said.
Djokovic is set to play Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
