Djokovic backed by Musk, Australian PM over broadcaster boycott; Channel Nine presenter apologises for controversial remark

On the court at Melbourne Park, tennis icon Novak Djokovic is waging a spirited battle to win the Australian Open for a record-extending 11th time, which will then translate to a historic 25th Grand Slam triumph. And so far, he’s doing a fairly good job at it, defeating American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in the opening round before collecting wins against Jaime Faria, Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka to advance to the quarter-finals, where he faces a stiff challenge in the form of world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz.

Off the court, ‘Djoker’s waging a different kind of a battle - this one against the Australian Open broadcaster Channel Nine for "insulting" him as well as for making a "mockery of Serbian fans".

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Channel Nine’s Tony Jones, who had recently labelled Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli a "bully" for his confrontation with a female reporter at the Melbourne airport, was speaking live from Melbourne Park when he tried to pass a cheeky comment aimed at Djokovic’s fans.

“Back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans there in full voice. The chants are quite extraordinary. Novak, he’s overrated! Novak’s a has-been! Novak, kick him out! Boy I’m glad they can’t hear me,” Jones said on the official broadcast.

Djokovic, in protest, had skipped the customary chat with the broadcaster after his victory over Lehecka in the Round of 16 on Sunday, and later cleared the air over his refusal to give the post-match interview in a video posted on his X account.

“A journalist who works for Channel 9 in Australia made a mockery of Serbian fans and made insulting and offensive comments towards me. Since then he chose not to issue any public apology. Neither did Channel 9. So since they are official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9,” Djokovic said in the clip.

A few words about what happened on court. pic.twitter.com/jRof2npiwH

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 19, 2025

The 37-year-old added that he was fine with Tennis Australia CEO and Director of the Australian Open Craig Tiley fining him for not doing the mandatory on-court interview.

“If you guys want to fine me, I’ll accept that ‘cause I feel this is something that needs to be done.’ That’s all there is to it,” Djokovic, who had won Olympic gold in Paris last year, said during the post-match press conference.

Australian PM, Musk and other celebrities rally behind the 24-time Grand Slam champion

Djokovic has been a polarising figure over the years, from refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine which led to him being refused entry to Australia in January 2022 to his Adria Tour charity tennis tournament becoming a covid super-spreader in June 2020. The Serbian superstar hasn’t always had the fans’ support and has been subjected to boos and jeers multiple times, something his contemporaries Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal hardly experienced.

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In his ongoing battle with the Channel Nine broadcasters, however, Djokovic has found plenty of support not just from fellow tennis players and fans, but from the likes of Tesla owner Elon Musk and even Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called for “more kindness and generosity”.

“I’ve seen the comments made by (Jones),” PM Albanese told ABC radio. “We need more kindness and generosity and respect across the board. That’s what people are looking for.”

Kindness, however, wasn’t what the Serbian Council of Australia had in mind when they called for Jones to be fired by Channel Nine, adding that they had lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission.

“His comments are offensive, racist and only serve to incite further discrimination of Australian-Serbs,” the organisation said in a statement.

Musk, meanwhile, used the incident to launch another attack on “legacy media”.

“It’s way better just to talk to the public directly than go through the negativity filter of legacy media,” Musk wrote on X on Sunday.

Former American tennis players Patrick McEnroe, brother of the legendary John McEnroe, and Mary Joe Fernandez too voiced support for Djokovic by slamming Channel Nine’s Jones for his “idiotic comment”.

Novak Djokovic getting full support from McEnroe and the ESPN Australian Open crew.

We are all with Novak Djokovic. 🙌🏻pic.twitter.com/DLQIpctRVH

— Danny (@DjokovicFan_) January 20, 2025

Two-time Australian Open champion and former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka slammed Jones for his “audacity” to call Djokovic “overrated”.

“The audacity to call Novak Djokovic overrated by a reporter is just insane. The guy literally completed tennis by winning everything you can in our sport!” Azarenka wrote on X.

Mercurial Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios, meanwhile, wondered how Jones still had a job at Channel Nine.

“How the f**k does this guy still have a f**king job? It is putrid stuff. Tony Jones you absolute flop. F**king Chompers mate,” Kyrgios said on Instagram.

Channel Nine presenter apologises over Djokovic comment

Facing the heat from the tennis fraternity and even the Australian PM over what he considered “banter, veteran presenter Jones apologised for causing “disrespect” to Djokovic and his team.

“The comments were made on the news on the Friday night, which I considered to be banter. I considered it to be humour, which is consistent with most things I do,” Jones said on Monday.

“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 and apology to them – 48 hours ago – for any disrespect that Novak felt, that I had caused.

“As I stand here now I can only stand by that apology to Novak.”

The 63-year-old further admitted that he had “let down the Serbian fans” with his comments.

“I should also say the disrespect was extended, in many ways, to the Serbian fans,” he said in his apology.

“We have built up a nice rapport with the Serbian fans… 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. It has been an unfortunate situation.”

Besides Jones, Channel Nine also issued an apology over the incident, saying “no harm was intended towards Novak or his fans”.