Djokovic makes silent protest over Channel Nine sledge
A fuming Novak Djokovic says he will refuse any interviews with Australian Open host broadcaster Channel Nine until he receives an apology.
The 10-time champion advanced to the quarter-finals with a straight sets win over Czech Jiri Lehecka on Sunday but declined to be interviewed on court by Jim Courier after the match, instead taking the microphone to briefly thank the fans.
It was initially believed he was upset by some members of the crowd. But the Serbian superstar revealed it was in protest of the behaviour of leading Nine journalist Tony Jones.
The veteran newsreader was doing a live broadcast from Melbourne Park on Friday night when a large group of Djokovic fans holding Serbian flags began cheering in the background behind him.
Jones sledged the fans, singing to them: “Novak, he’s overrated … Novak’s a has-been. Novak, kick him out.”
While the comments were supposed to be a joke, Jones was widely slammed on social media.
Djokovic made a statement before the start of his post-match press conference to explain his silence.
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“A couple of days ago, a famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster Channel Nine here in Australia made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” he said.
“Since then, he chose not to issue any public apology, neither did Channel Nine, so since they are official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel Nine.
“I have nothing against Jim Courier, neither the Australian public.
“It was a very awkward situation for me to face on the court today and it’s unfortunate.
“I leave it to Channel Nine to handle this the way they think they see fit.”
Asked if this would be his position until an apology was made, Djokovic replied: “Yes, exactly”.
Jones made a reported apology to Serbian website Sport Klub.
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“Unfortunately, my ‘humour’ the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak,” the website reported him as saying.
“That was certainly not the case. I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament and this is – at least I thought so – a continuation of that,” he said.
“If you watch our morning show, you’ll get an idea of how we work.
“At no point did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak and I apologise – there was certainly no intention to offend him.”
After Djokovic, who is gunning for a record 25th grand slam title, left Rod Laver Arena on Friday, he was seen talking with tournament director Craig Tiley.
He said he wanted to explain his stance and tell Tiley that he would accept a fine for not completing his media commitments.
“Exactly what I told you, I told him because I haven’t seen him since that happened … I just wanted to make sure as I have a really nice relationship with Craig,” he said.
“I just wanted to make sure that he knows where I stand and the reasons behind it.
“I told him if you guys want to fine me for not giving an on-court interview, that’s OK, I’ll accept that because I feel like this is something that needs to be done and that’s all there is to it.”
Jones was also a target for American player Danielle Collins after he labelled her a “brat” for her post-match reaction when she defeated Australian Destanee Aiava.
– with AAP
