Channel 9 star Tony Jones’ behaviour labelled a ‘disgrace’ by tennis world
Tony Jones has been slammed for a rogue attack on Novak Djokovic on live television, sparking outrage from the tennis world.
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Channel 9 host Tony Jones has angered Novak Djokovic’s supporters by going rogue and sledging the Serbian superstar on a live broadcast.
Jones was reading the sports news for Nine’s evening news bulletin live from Melbourne Park on Friday night when a large group of Djokovic fans holding Serbian flags began cheering in the background behind him.
“Welcome back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans, they’re in full voice,” Jones said.
“The chants are quite extraordinary,” he added, before firing a few bold sledges back to the Djokovic fans.
“Novak, he’s overrated,” Jones sang.
“Novak’s a has-been. Novak, kick him out.
“Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me. Anyway, let’s get onto the tennis.”
As he finished his bulletin, Jones said: “Alright that wraps it up from Melbourne Park. Somehow I’m going to have to get out of here.
“No we’re fine, we had selfies. I told them I was Clint Stanaway.”
Nine newsreader Tom Steinfort chimed in from the studio: “I didn’t think anyone would be more unpopular than Danielle Collins after last night’s antics, but Tony you’ve taken the cake.”
The clip, which you can watch in the video above, has racked up more than 260,000 views on social media and it’s safe to say viewers weren’t overly impressed with Jones’ sledges.
Australian doubles legend Paul McNamee wrote on X: “Tony I’m surprised, especially as you work for the host broadcaster, that you would send up a bunch of Aussies (with European heritage) having a good time celebrating their 10-time AO champion … trying to be funny mate?”
“I’m sure TJ would never ever have said this about Fed or Nadal,” one person wrote, describing the Djokovic sledges as “very ugly” and “unprofessional”.
They added: “Whatever that was: trolling the fans, annoyed at the fans, joking with the fans etc I think it missed the mark and was in poor taste, lacking respect.”
A second said: “A vast number of Serbians & Slavic peoples have made Australia home since the 50s, I am of Croatian heritage so you may think we wouldn’t support Djokovic but many of us do! Tony Jones what a disgrace.”
Another said: “Poor form from TJ. His attempts at humour are tone deaf and insufferable.”
Tennis writer Todd Scoullar said: “Have to say, this is one of the strangest things Tony Jones has done on camera. I know it’s a ‘joke’, but to have such a lack of respect from the host broadcaster is … slightly questionable.”
Tennis blogger Pavvy G posted: “Australian media when discussing Djokovic, and people still don’t think the media had a BIG role in getting him deported in 2022. They always push false narratives. Listen to what Tony Jones really thinks of Djokovic. Pretty shocking tbh...”
In a comment provided to news.com.au, Jones said: “It was good natured banter with the Serbian fans. We’ve been doing it all tournament and it’s all in good fun. This is the happy Slam.”
Djokovic has some of the most passionate fans in world tennis, so it’s a bold move to try and get under their skin.
The 37-year-old has 24 grand slam titles, the most of any man in tennis history, ahead of Rafael Nadal (22) and Roger Federer (20). He won the Olympic gold medal in singles last year in Paris, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Djokovic also has the most appearances in grand slam quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals in men’s history.
If he goes all the way in Melbourne, he will surpass Australian Margaret Court to stand alone with the most grand slam titles of all time, men or women.
He has won a record 10 Australian Open titles and overtook Federer’s record for the most grand slam matches won with a victory in the second round.
Federer won 429 grand slam matches in his career, while Djokovic now has 431 and counting.
“What to say? I love this sport, I love competition, and I try to give my best every single time,” Djokovic said when told about the record.
“It’s been over 20 years that I’ve been competing in grand slams at the highest level. Whether I win or lose, one thing is for sure: I’ll always leave my heart out on the court.
“Grand slams, of course, they are the pillars of our sport, they mean everything for the history of this sport, they are the ones that motivate the youngest children. When I was a kid, the first image I had of tennis was watching Wimbledon finals, four or five years old.
“I’m just blessed to be making another record today.”
Djokovic was in the thick of things as he won through to the fourth round, where he will face Czech player Jiri Lehecka on Sunday.
After being heckled during his third round match, Djokovic told a loud member of the crowd “Sorry mate, I have a wife” in his post-match interview on court.
Speaking later in his post-match press conference, Djokovic smiled when asked about Danielle Collins’ antics against Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava and said he was a “big fan” of the American.
Collins celebrated her victory by cupping her ear to the pro-Aiava crowd and repeatedly said, “How about that?” before playfully kissing her hand and then slapping her backside as she walked to her chair.
In her on court interview she then doubled down: “I was thinking during the match, if I’m out here, I might as well take that big fat pay cheque and go on a holiday,” Collins said.
And while the American’s comments made her public enemy No.1, Djokovic loved her response and said it only made him like her more.
“I loved her response. I loved it, everything she said on the court, off the court,” said the 37-year-old.
“[I’m] big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan – I love it.
“I think she handled it really well. I don’t think I would be that polite, and I know exactly the feeling. So I think she was funny, smart, and [I’m] just big fan of what she did.”
On Friday, Tony Jones described Danielle Collins as “the new super brat of tennis” following the American’s controversial crowd interaction in her win over Aiava.
“She is the new villain,” Jones said on Nine’s coverage.
“You just don’t want someone to disrespect the local audience.”
John Millman told Jones: “She’ll come at you too, you better be careful.”
Jones replied: “Bring it on Danielle.”
Casey Dellacqua added: “Every story needs a bit of theatre and I love that tennis has a bit of that. I love that we’ve got villains in our game. We’ve got the nice guys, love stories, we’ve got everything. I don’t know, I like it.”
Originally published as Channel 9 star Tony Jones’ behaviour labelled a ‘disgrace’ by tennis world
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