Australian Open drama runs a lot deeper than a few dad jokes and a thin-skinned player
You could pinpoint the exact moment Channel 9 realised it had a Novak Djokovic problem.
Deep inside the bowels of Rod Laver Arena, the 10-time Australian Open champion was involved in a heated argument with Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley after his fourth-round victory over Jiri Lehecka.
When Djokovic refused an on-court interview with Jim Courier minutes earlier, Nine producers figured it was because the crowd had incessantly heckled him during the match. His animated discussion with Tiley made for great TV, as animated discussions tend to do.
Then word filtered through that Djokovic’s issue wasn’t with rowdy spectators but Tony Jones, the toothy 63-year-old Melbourne Nine presenter who has a lengthy show reel of awkward on-air moments.
Nine promptly stopped broadcasting the argument and returned to the panel to discuss the match.
It says everything about the modern world that Jones’s corny comments to Serbian fans about Djokovic being “overrated” and someone should “kick him out” could escalate into the international incident that it somehow became.
Jones’s oddball humour barely translates outside of Victoria, let alone the country, but calls from Serbian rights groups for him to resign because the comments were “racist” are just silly.
Equally out of line was the grubby fan who yelled out a vile comment about Jones’s family during a live cross from Melbourne Park on Tuesday night as Djokovic battled Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
The remark was made as Nine reporter Danika Mason set the scene from outside the stadium during the third set. Nine immediately crossed back to Rod Laver Arena, where Djokovic eventually won a tense four-setter to reach Friday night’s semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
This week’s events run deeper than a veteran presenter in need of better dad jokes upsetting a thin-skinned tennis player who attracts drama at every turn.
The Australian Open lives and dies by the relationship it has with its players, especially the big names. Six-time champion Roger Federer was the first to call the tournament the “Happy Slam” and it maintains that reputation by keeping them happy.
TA can’t compete financially with the likes of China and Saudi Arabia, both of whom would snatch our grand slam if given half a chance.
Prizemoney at the Australian Open compares favourably against the others: the overall pool of $96.5 million is only marginally less than Wimbledon ($99.9m) and more than the French Open ($88.7m). The US Open’s bounty is a staggering $120m.
TA officials live in fear that one day the Saudis will swing through their tournament with the same wrecking ball that swung through the PGA Tour, leading to the creation of LIV Golf.
Tiley has publicly issued this warning numerous times, usually when he’s asking the Victorian government for more funds for Melbourne Park’s facilities.
“Let me tell you why it’s always a threat: because anyone could decide tomorrow that ‘we have an event with $100m in prizemoney and I’m going to put the top 32 players and everyone’s guaranteed to make $2m,’” he told AAP last year. “People can do that and there’s nothing stopping them from doing it in January.”
Tennis people often joke about how close Tiley is to the world’s best players, popping up in the tunnel with them before they walk out on to centre court for a headline match.
He did all he could to get Djokovic into the country in 2022 before the Serbian was deported after four gruelling days in a Melbourne hotel room. (Now that was an international incident.)
There’s no dispute, however, that the Australian Open has soared on Tiley’s watch. His close relationship with the players goes beyond being an excited fanboy. It’s clearly by stealth – and it’s smart.
Fancy food trucks, boutique bars and live music might entice the non-tennis loving fan who wouldn’t know the difference between a Yonex and a Rolex, but nothing plants bums in seats like a superstar player.
Sure, they’re precious little plums who bruise easily. They always want the world to bend for them.
Lleyton Hewitt wasn’t always the elder statesman of Australian tennis that he’s become. In 2005, he was furious about the slow Rebound Ace surface at Melbourne Park, branding it “cow shit” in interviews more than once.
“I thought I may have had a bit of pull after being No.1 in the world for two years and winning a couple of slams, but obviously not that much,” he fumed at the time.
(Imagine if Djokovic uttered something vaguely along these lines.)
Team Hewitt regularly butted heads that year with then-tournament director Paul McNamee, who was among the first this week to call out Jones and Nine for his poorly timed comments.
Nine has done a capable job since replacing Seven as the host broadcaster in 2019. By that stage, the relationship between TA and Seven, which had held the rights since 1973, had become so toxic that a change was needed.
The incident with Djokovic has undermined much of that good work.
Whether it was arrogance or sloppiness, Nine and TA figured Jones’s apology to Djokovic’s management on Saturday morning was enough.
Like him or not, the 10-time champion deserved better. Like him or not, he’s captivating viewing.
After dismantling Alcaraz, who is 16 years his junior, while carrying a groin strain, there’s every chance Djokovic will be back at Melbourne Park next year.
It’s a safe bet Tony Jones will not.
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