The battle between Tony Jones and Novak Djokovic appears to be over.
Djokovic demanded a public apology from Jones over “offensive comments” he made about the former world No. 1 during a live broadcast.
On Monday, Jones publicly apologized to the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who acknowledged the remarks and plans to retract them after Serbia's boycott threatened to derail the Australian Open.
Jones' apology included the sensational claim that he had already secretly apologized to members of Djokovic's support team behind the scenes more than 24 hours before Djokovic's default victory.
Jones mocked the Serbian fans, singing on the air: “Novak, he's overrated. He's overrated.” … Novak is from the past. Novak, get rid of him. Hey, I'm glad they can't hear me. ”
But Jones' words fell on deaf ears with tennis fans, despite saying he supported an apology for causing disrespect to both Djokovic and the Serbian fans.
Many were quick to criticize the media veteran for issuing a “hollow” statement that missed the mark.
Renowned tennis journalist Ben Rosenberg wrote in X: “Tony Jones “apologized,'' but it was one of those empty apologies, where he apologized not for what he had done but for how it made the other person feel, and then apologized for not agreeing with that feeling. Be clear: “I apologize” should not become “I apologize.” ”
Tennis blogger Pabby G said: “Here's Tony Jones' apology. Instead of making all kinds of excuses and trying to deflect attention from his mistake, he should have just said a few words. I am truly sorry to Djokovic, his fans, and his fans.” I wish him luck.
“This is so-called word salad!” What I don't understand is why he didn't publicly apologize when he said he apologized to Djokovic's camp 48 hours ago. He was interviewed by @ozmo_sasa on Saturday, but refused to apologize, saying it was just a “joke”. Therefore, his story doesn't make sense. ”
Another furious fan said: “Tony Jones' apology to Novak Djokovic is the most manly apology ever. 'I'm sorry if what I said hurt your feelings.'
As anger mounted against Jones on social media, colleagues at Channel 9 came to his defense, claiming his comments simply had his sense of humor lost in translation.
Australia's Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sara Abo made light of the situation, while guest panellist Senator Jack Lambie jokingly urged Jones to double down on his comments. did.
The consensus among Nine media members was that Djokovic did not seem to understand Jones' sarcastic style.
Despite his best efforts, Jones found himself in the hot seat, with fans as well as fellow players taunting the veteran announcer.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka led Djokovic's support.
“The audacity of a reporter to say Novak Djokovic is overrated is absolutely insane,” she tweeted. “This man has literally perfected tennis by winning everything there is to do in our sport!”
Piers Morgan was also on the Serbian side. “Djokovic is right. That guy at Channel 9 was an absolute tool.”
Elon Musk also weighed in, reacting to Djokovic's video post about X.
“It's much better to talk directly to the public than to go through the negative filter of traditional media,” Musk responded to the video.
“Sure,” Djokovic replied.
But the scandal is nearing an end, with Djokovic accepting Jones' apology and now focusing his full attention on Tuesday night's match against Carlos Alcaraz.
