‘Been misled’: Nine hosts defend Tony Jones over Djokovic interview boycott

Several Nine hosts including Karl Stefanovic have defended Tony Jones after Novak Djokovic boycotted the broadcaster over fiery comments.

Nine broadcasters have defended Tony Jones, declaring Novak Djokovic’s response to the veteran broadcaster’s comments as simply a case of a sense of humour lost in translation.

Djokovic stunned Rod Laver Arena and viewers on Channel 9 when he only offered up a few words to the crowd before walking off after a 6-3 6-4 7-6 fourth round win over Jiri Lehecka without speaking to Jim Courier.

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The Serbian superstar then fronted the media and made it clear that “offensive comments” made by Jones days earlier were behind his Channel 9 boycott.

“I’d like to just clarify the reason why it (the interview) was not conducted on the court,” Djokovic said.

“A couple of days ago the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster here in Australia made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me.

“And since then he chose not to issue any public apology, neither did Nine.

“Since they’re official broadcasters I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9. I have nothing against Jim Courier or the Australian public. It’s unfortunate.

“I chose to say something to the crowd but obviously wasn’t the time and situation to explain what I’m doing right now.

“I leave it to Nine to handle this the way they see fit.”

News.com.au has contacted Channel 9 regarding Djokovic’s boycott.

Novak Djokovic is boycotting Channel 9 over Tony Jones’ comments.

Nine hosts make light of Djokovic saga

On Monday morning, Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo made light of the situation, while guest panellist Senator Jacke Lambie jokingly urged Jones to double down on his comments.

Ms Lambie said: “I’m on TJ’s side” before holding up a coffee mug with a cat on it and a message that read: “You smell like drama and a headache.”

She added: “Go TJ. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi.” You can watch the discussion in the video below.

The Age’s Paul Sakkal said: “I think Novak’s been a little bit precious here. He’s (Jones) some bloke from Australia he’s never heard of before. But ‘Chompers’ could just apologise, move on. Let’s get him (Djokovic) on to the interview with Jim Courier.”

Abo joked: “Ooh Chompers, maybe he’s bitten off more than he can chew.”

Stefanovic then showed a photo of an animal with massive teeth, saying: “I can sort the whole thing. Here’s TJ in an earlier interview. We can straighten this whole thing out very quickly.”

The consensus from Nine’s media stable seemed to be that Djokovic didn’t understand Jones’ tongue-in-cheek style.

Ross Stevenson said on his 3AW program: “When did Novak Djokovic lose his sense of humour? Because he used to be quite funny.

“It makes me think that he’s been misled by people about what actually happened and they’re winding him up. His response may be genuinely heartfelt.

“If you heard it yourself, you would get the sense of fun. I hope there is a rapprochement (reconciliation) between TJ and Novak, clearing up a misunderstanding.”

Russell Howcroft said Djokovic’s reaction to Jones’ comments could be put down to them being from “two different hemispheres”.

Mark Allen said: “If Mick Molloy or Sam Pang had said the same thing, everyone would be bent over knee slapping.

“It was said in fun. Novak, just go back and check the tape. It was said in jest.”

Kane Cornes, a longtime co-host on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show alongside Jones, defended the veteran reporter.

“Firstly, as far as I know there would have been no malice in what he was saying,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast on Monday.

“He was trying to be funny and it missed. And it missed badly.

“It’s live TV. Sometimes you set things up and I’m assuming Channel 9 and TJ himself would have set the crowd up for that chant because TV is all about the pictures and the colour and what it looks like so there’s no doubt there would have been a conversation with that section of the crowd.

Channel 9 sports presenter Tony Jones is a veteran of Australian TV.

“It was awkward. He’d be feeling it now. He’s a professional. He’s been doing this for a long time, so he wouldn’t be feeling great about this. He wouldn’t have expected it to blow up like it has.

Cornes said he expects that Jones and Channel 9 will make an apology.

“I’m not black and white on this. TJ was out of line. It was poor. It was ill-timed. It wasn’t funny. So I’m firmly in that belief, but I’m also in the belief that Novak could have handled this better and he has overreacted,” Cornes said.

“Novak has completely overreacted. He has missed the humour in all of this. Clearly in the cold, hard light of day, Tony Jones isn’t going to sit there and think that Novak is overrated. It was clearly an attempt at humour. There’s ways that Novak and his team could have handled this. Why would Novak even care what Tony Jones thinks of him?”

Djokovic didn’t stick around to chat to Jim Courier. Photo: Michael Klein

Djokovic explains Channel 9 snub

Djokovic, a 10-time champion at Melbourne Park, also released a self-recorded video message to his fans, apologising for not speaking to them on the court.

“That was the only reason I didn’t do the interview,” he said of Jones.

“It was of course not a great feeling for me and it was quite awkward on the court.

“Jim Courier was the one that came out. I have tremendous respect for him and I always love speaking to Jim and I know that a lot of people wanted to hear me speak so I apologise for everyone being in the stadium and not being able to hear me speak. And on the TV as well.”

The 24-time grand slam champ said he will “hold his stance” until something is done.

Courier said on Eurosport after the match that he had not been given warning about Djokovic’s walk-off.

Djokovic, 37, confirmed he had also spoken with Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley after the match and said he was prepared to be fined by the tournament for refusing to deal with the official broadcast partner.

“I have a really nice relationship with Craig, I think he’s a phenomenal guy that always tries to help players and understand the players’ needs or demands, so I just wanted to make sure that he knows where I stand and the reasons behind it,” the 10-time Aussie Open champion said.

“So I told him, you know, If you guys want to fine me for not giving an on-court interview, that’s OK, I’ll accept that because I feel like this is something that needs to be done.

“That’s all there is to it.”

Tony Jones makes apology

Tony Jones is yet to speak through the Nine Network, but the 63-year-old has reportedly made an apology through Serbian press.

“Unfortunately, my ‘humour’ the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak,” he told Serbian outlet Sport Klub.

“That was certainly not the case. I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament and this is – at least I thought so – a continuation of that.

“If you watch our morning show, you’ll get an idea of how we work. At no point did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak and I apologise – there was certainly no intention to offend him.”

Tony Jones sledged Novak Djokovic during a news bulletin. Photo: Nine.

What did Tony Jones say?

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 responded: “I didn’t think anyone would be more unpopular than Danielle Collins after last night’s antics, but Tony you’ve taken the cake.”

In a comment provided to news.com.au after the incident, 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 spoke with Australian Open boss Craig Tiley about the boycott in the tunnels under the stadium after his win.

Djokovic next plays Carlos Alcaraz in a mouth-watering quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday.

Alcaraz will be fresh as a daisy after Brit Jack Draper retired hurt after Alcaraz won the first two sets 7-5 6-1. The Spaniard spent just 81 minutes on court in his third round win.

Originally published as ‘Been misled’: Nine hosts defend Tony Jones over Djokovic interview boycott