During a live broadcast at the Australian Open, Tony Jones, a prominent Channel Nine presenter, made controversial remarks about tennis star Novak Djokovic and his Serbian supporters. The incident occurred on Friday evening during a segment of the news show, where Jones quipped, "Novak, he's overrated" and "Novak, kick him out," to a group of animated Serbian fans. This attempt at humor did not sit well with Djokovic's camp, leading them to contact Tennis Australia the following morning to express their discontent.
The fallout from Jones' comments has sparked significant backlash. On Monday, Channel Nine issued an apology for any offense caused. Meanwhile, the Serbian Council of Australia lodged a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission and called for Jones' suspension from his duties. Renowned tennis figures, including Boris Becker and Viktoria Azarenka, criticized Jones' behavior. Becker described it as "very disturbing," while Azarenka remarked on the absurdity of the situation.
"The audacity to call Novak Djokovic overrated by a reporter is just insane," said Viktoria Azarenka. "The guy literally completed tennis by winning everything you can in our sport!"
In response to the incident, Tony Jones stated that his comments were intended as light-hearted banter.
"I considered it to be humour, which is consistent with most things I do," Jones explained.
However, he acknowledged the disapproval from Djokovic's camp and expressed regret.
"Having said that, I was made aware on the Saturday morning from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments," Jones admitted. "As such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them. And as I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak … I do apologise if he felt that I disrespected him."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was drawn into the controversy but refrained from delving deeply into it.
"I’ll let that go through to the keeper, that’s a matter between them," he commented, before adding, "But I think Novak Djokovic is certainly a fine tennis player, there’s no question about that, and I do think that there is a place for more respect."
In light of the incident, Djokovic refrained from participating in a customary on-court interview after his victory over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday. He also announced his decision not to engage with the host broadcaster until an apology was extended. In response, Jones stated he had reached out to Djokovic and his camp to apologize and offered to meet with them to discuss the issue further.
The incident has raised questions about the boundaries of humor in broadcast journalism and the responsibility of media personalities to uphold respect in their commentary. As tensions simmer, Jones awaits a meeting with Djokovic's team to address the matter personally.