MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian broadcaster Tony Jones apologized to Novak Djokovic and Serbian tennis fans after he admittedly crossed the line in heckling fans during a news segment Friday.
The apology came after Djokovic skipped the customary on-court interview Sunday night after his fourth-round win at the Australian Open. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said it was a protest of Jones and Australian host broadcaster Channel 9.
In his news segment Friday, Jones heckled Serbian fans by saying Djokovic was “overrated,” a “has-been” and to “kick him out.”
On Monday morning, Jones appeared on Channel 9’s “Today” morning show to issue an apology to Djokovic and the Serbian tennis fans after Djokovic said he wouldn’t be engaging with the local broadcaster until a public apology was issued.
Jones said he thought he was engaging in “banter” with the fans, but admitted he crossed the line.
“The comments were made on the news on Friday night, which I considered to be banter,” Jones said. “I considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do.
“Having said that, I was made aware on Saturday morning, from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp, 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 he felt he “overstepped the mark” with the “kick him out” comment, which “can only be interpreted as a throwback to the COVID years.”
Djokovic wasn’t allowed to defend his Australian Open title in 2022 because he refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and he said earlier this month that he still experiences trauma whenever he visits Melbourne because of it.
“It has been an unfortunate situation — one of personal angst for Novak and personal angst for me as well,” Jones said. “The priority now is to focus on the tennis again. I can only again tell Novak what I told him 48 hours ago, and that is I do apologize if he felt I disrespected him.”
As for the Serbian fans, Jones said he apologized to those who bring “so much color and passion” to the tournament.
“We’ve built up a nice rapport with the Serbian fans,” Jones said. “They bring flags, and so much color and passion. There is banter, and I thought what I was doing was an extension of that banter. Quite clearly that has not been interpreted that way. I feel as though I’ve let down the Serbian fans.”
Djokovic clarified Sunday night why he skipped the on-court interview in a video posted to social media platform X after the match, and he also issued a statement during his postmatch news conference before taking any questions.
Djokovic is not the first player to call out Jones’ conduct during the tournament. American Danielle Collins, ranked No. 11 in the world, mentioned Jones after her third-round loss to compatriot Madison Keys.
Collins said Jones labeled her a “brat” in a radio segment in response to her taunting the Australian crowd earlier in the tournament.
“I love this old guy. Tony? Tony Jones?” Collins said. “… I just loved how he called me a brat. And, like, it’s just so, like, Gen Z and Millennial right now. It’s [singer] Charli XCX, and I really want him to do the dance that she does. He has to do it. He has to.”
Djokovic will next face No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
