Opinion: The whole Tony Jones and Novak Djokovic debacle comes down to ego — for both of them

Opinion: Tony Jones was out of order — but with Djokovic’s wealth and power, he needs to sweat the big stuff.

Well, that could have gone better.

I doubt Tony Jones thought he would be at the apex of tennis’s ire on a random Monday morning, but here we are.

It’s almost as though making some derogatory comments about (arguably) the world’s best male tennis player wasn’t a bright idea.

Australian sports commentary is full of passing remarks such as the ones TJ made, but those kinds of throwaway lines are better saved for AFL, where everyone understands the tone.

In his apology, TJ confirmed the comments were made in banter and he said he regretted them.

I don’t blame Djokovic for taking offence to what was said. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

I don’t blame Djokovic for taking offence to what was said – especially when TJ said ‘kick him out’ – but I do feel that everything has been blown vastly out of proportion.

To be frank, everyone needs to just suck it up.

TJ shouldn’t have made the comments, but Djokovic has won more than $185m USD in prize money over the course of his career.

He has spent more than eight years ranked as the best male tennis player in the world by the ATP.

Several offhand comments from an Aussie sports presenter are not going to be the breaking point of his athletic career, nor the downfall of his dignity.

He took care of that himself when he tried to enter Australia unvaccinated in 2022 in the little saga I like to refer to as The Djoker and the Grief.

But, I digress.

If both men just took a step back, this slightly pathetic war of words would never have existed in the first place. Picture: Martin Keep / AFP

The crunch point of this whole drama is ego.

One man, who has spent decades being lauded on prime time Aussie TV, felt empowered to say whatever he wanted. The other man is one of the most powerful athletes in the world and couldn’t stand a few harsh words said against him.

If both men just took a step back, this slightly pathetic war of words would never have existed in the first place.

We know from Djokovic’s interactions with the public and his banter in exhibition matches that he has a sense of humour – and obviously we know TJ’s media persona is also witty.

If you want to dish it out, you have to be able to take it.

Calling someone a ‘has-been’ certainly isn’t nice – or true, in this case – but when you have Djokovic’s level of wealth and power, perspective is everything.

Everyone just settle, and we can go back to enjoying this fantastic tournament.

Originally published as Opinion: The whole Tony Jones and Novak Djokovic debacle comes down to ego — for both of them