Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic receives an apology from the broadcaster who made “insulting” comments about him.
According to The Washington Times, after a fourth-round victory on Sunday, January 19, 2025, in the 2025 Australian Open, the 24-time Grand Slam winner refused to give an interview to the channel whose “sports journalist” has made “offensive” comments about him and Serbian fans.
The 37-year-old said that we wanted an apology from Channel 9 and Tony Jones, who called the Paris Olympic gold medallist overrated during an on-air show in front of his supporters at Melbourne Park.
Without naming Jones, he asserted that a “famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster Channel 9… made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments toward me.”
He also threatened that he would not speak with the network until he received an apology.
Following this, the Australian network on Monday, January 20, 2025, issued a statement to apologise to the tennis star “for any offence caused from comments made during a recent live cross.”
The statement read, “No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans. We look forward to further showcasing his Australian Open campaign at Melbourne Park.”
Later Jones also apologised to the record eight-time year-end number 1 player and his fans for his comments, which he “considered to be humour.”
Notably, in a power-packed Australian Open quarterfinal clash, Djokovic will face number three-seeded Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
