Australian Open: Channel 9 broadcaster Tony Jones apologizes for comments to Novak Djokovic
Djokovic, a 10-time champion, will play Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Channel Nine also apologized, saying “no harm was intended to Novak or his fans”.
The Serbian Council of Australia has called for Jones to be sacked, saying his comments were “derogatory, racist and only serve to incite further discrimination between Australian-Serbs”.
Jones said he particularly felt he had “crossed the line” with his “get him out” comment – which he acknowledged was justified by Djokovic’s deportation from Australia to 2022 due to the country’s Covid-19 regulations. Can be understood as a reference.
“It makes Novak angry – I completely understand that,” Jones said.
“It’s an unfortunate situation and a personal upset for Novak and a personal upset for me as well. The priority now is to focus on tennis. He has an amazing match and I hope he can focus on that.
“I can only tell Novak what I told him 48 hours ago, which is that I apologize if he feels I disrespected him.
“I agreed to meet with them in person, they came back and yes, it hasn’t happened yet but I expect it to happen in the next 24 hours.”
Tennis Australia said, “Novak accepts that the apology has been made publicly as requested and he is now moving on and focusing on his next match.”
