After Novak Djokovic's public apology call, under-fire journalist Tony Jones breaks silence on Australian Open controversy

Tony Jones has broken his silence in the aftermath of Novak Djokovic's controversial explanation of his decision to skip his post-match interview following his fourth-round win at the 2025 Australian Open.

According to Jones, he had apologized to the Djokovic camp after his remarks on the Serb and his fans at the Australian Open were widely perceived as disrespectful.

In an interview with 9 News Australia, the media organization that Jones serves, the journalist and sportscaster suggested that he had initially made the remarks out of humor. Jones claimed he rendered a private apology to the Serb's team as soon as he realized how his remarks were being generally interpreted.

"Well, one of disappointment that it's come to this I've got to say, because the comments were made, if I can give you just a bit of the timeline here, the comments were made on the news on the Friday night, which I considered to be banter, I considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do," Jones said.

"Having said that, I was made aware on the Saturday morning from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments. Now, as such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them," he added.

Later, he also admitted that he crossed the line when he made the comment, "Kick him (Djokovic) out", a reference to the Serb's deportation from Australia in 2022.

"If I could turn back time, and we've all got PhDs in hindsight, I think the one thing where I overstepped the mark, and this is most certainly what angered Novak Djokovic and his camp, is the last comment I made in that back-and-forth with the crowd, "kick him out". Now I can stand here and put whatever spin I want on that, but it can only be interpreted as a throwback to the COVID years when he was kicked out," Jones stated.

The entire controversy began when fans began criticizing Jones' comments about the record 10-time Australian Open champion in front of a loud group of Serbian fans.

At the time, the journalist was in the 9 News studio in Melbourne Park, with a large, soundproof glass wall separating him and the fans. In a rather mocking and singing tone, as if to imitate the fans' chants, Jones uttered the following:

"Novak, he's overrated! Novak's a has-been! Novak, kick him out!"

At a press conference following his fourth-round win over Jiri Lehecka at the 2025 Australian Open, the 24-time Major winner himself spoke up about the subject for the first time. Prior to this, the Serb refused to do a post-match, on-court interview with Jim Courier, who later revealed that players aren't obliged to do post-match interviews.

"A journalist who works for Channel 9 in Australia made a mockery of Serbian fans & made insulting & offensive comments towards me. Neither him or Channel 9 issued an apology," Djokovic said, prompting Jones to ulimately break his silence.

A week before the 2025 Australian Open began, the former World No. 1 told Herald Sun how his infamous deportation from Australia in 2022 left a lasting negative impact on him, which he allegedly still feels whenever he sets foot in the country.

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"The person checking my passport — are they going to take me, detain me again or let me go?" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (Source: Getty)

In an interview with Herald Sun earlier this month, Novak Djokovic laid bare how his controversial 2022 deportation from Australia continues to come up in his mind when he is about to enter the country these days.

"The last couple of times that I landed in Australia, to go through passport control and immigration — I had a bit of trauma from three years ago. And some traces still stay there when I’m passing passport control, just checking out if someone from the immigration zone is approaching. The person checking my passport — are they going to take me, detain me again or let me go? I must admit I have that feeling," the Serb said.

On the tennis front, the current World No. 7's fourth-round win over Lehecka helped him set up a blockbuster quarterfinal clash against Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb won the pair's last meeting, the men's singles gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

However, on Grand Slam level, it was the Spaniard who came out on top the last time the pair met, a one-sided victory against an uncharacteristically subpar Djokovic in the 2024 Wimbledon Championships men's singles final.