Tony Jones apologises to Novak Djokovic over on-air offensive comments

Australian broadcaster has apologised to Novak Djokovic after the 24-time Grand Slam champion condemned his on-air remarks as "insulting and offensive."

Channel Nine’s Tony Jones made the comments during a live segment at the Australian Open on Friday, shouting, "Novak, he's overrated, Novak's a has-been, Novak kick him out" towards Djokovic fans.

In response, Djokovic refused to participate in his usual on-court interview following his fourth-round victory over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, citing Channel Nine’s role as the tournament’s official broadcaster.

At a news conference, the 37-year-old Serbian star said Jones had "made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me," describing the situation as "very awkward."

On Monday, Jones addressed the controversy, stating that he had already apologised to Djokovic through Tennis Australia two days prior.

"I considered it banter and humour—consistent with what I do," Jones said. "However, I was made aware that Novak’s camp was not happy at all. I immediately contacted them and issued an apology."

He admitted that his "kick him out" remark, which some interpreted as a reference to Djokovic’s 2022 deportation over Australia’s Covid-19 regulations, had likely escalated tensions.

The Serbian Council of Australia called for Jones to be sacked, labelling his comments "offensive, racist and only serving to incite further discrimination of Australian-Serbs."

Channel Nine also issued an apology, stating, "No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans."

Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open champion, is set to face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Tennis Australia confirmed that Djokovic acknowledged the public apology and is now focused on his next match.

Novak Djokovic announced on Sunday that he would no longer participate in on-court interviews at the Australian Open after accusing a leading anchor at the host broadcaster of making "insulting comments" about him and Serbian people.

The 10-time Melbourne champion had just secured a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Jiri Lehecka to advance to the quarter-finals when he refused to do the regular post-match interview.

Instead, he took the microphone from interviewer Jim Courier, made a brief statement thanking the crowd, and walked off to a smattering of boos.