Novak Djokovic Gets Apology from Reporter for Making 'a Mockery of Serbian Fans'

Novak Djokovic boycotted the usual on-court interview after his victory over Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

After the match, Djokovic had a brief message for the fans before walking off the court.

The 10-time tournament champion explained in his press conference his issue was with Channel 9, which broadcasts the Australian Open in its home country. He alluded to network personality Tony Jones and said Jones had "made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me."

Djokovic then responded affirmatively when asked whether his snubbing of the on-court interview will be "an ongoing stance until you get an apology."

Tennis writer Ben Rothenberg provided a transcript of Djokovic's opening statement along with a clip with the offending remarks from Jones.

Jones was standing before a group of Djokovic's fans, who were chanting and presumably speaking in Serbian. He pretended to translate and said they were cheering things like "Novak, he's overrated" and "Novak's a has-been."

Jones issued an apology on Monday morning, via ESPN's Matt Walsh:

"The comments were made on the news on Friday night, which I considered to be banter. I considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do."

"Having said that, I was made aware on Saturday morning, from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp, that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments. As such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them—this was 48 hours ago—for any disrespect that Novak felt, that I had caused. And as I stand here now, I can only stand by that apology to Novak if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does."

The television presenter also drew the ire of Danielle Collins after he called her a "brat." Collins had goaded the crowd at times during her second-round win over Australian Destanee Aiava.

Djokovic said he "loved her response" to the crowd and he has become a "big fan" of Collins.

When it comes to his own feud with Channel 9, the No. 7 seed told reporters he has made his position clear to Tennis Australian CEO Craig Tiley.

"I just wanted to make sure that he knows where I stand and the reasons behind it," he said. "So I told him: 'If you guys want to fine me for not giving an on-court interview, that's OK.' I'll accept that 'cause I feel like this is something that needs to be done. That's all there is to it."

Djokovic faces off with Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.