Australian Open commentator’s ‘hollow’ Novak Djokovic apology includes staggering claim

New York Post

The war 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.
“The audacity to call Novak Djokovic overrated by a reporter is just insane,” she tweeted.
“Indeed,” Djokovic wrote back.
The scandal has however drawn to a conclusion with Djokovic accepting Jones’ apology and now turning his full attention to his Tuesday night clash against Carlos Alcaraz.

NEGATIVE

It looks like the battle between Novak Djokovic and Tony Jones is over.

Djokovic urged Jones to issue a public apology for his “offensive remarks” regarding the former world No. 1 during a broadcast that is live.

Jones publicly apologized to the 24-time Grand Slam champion on Monday, who acknowledged the comments and is determined to move past them. The Serbian’s boycott had threatened to ruin the Australian Open.

Jones made the dramatic allegation in his apology that he had already apologized to Djokovic’s support staff behind closed doors more than twenty-four hours prior to Djokovic’s departure.

“Novak, he’s overrated,” Jones sang during a broadcast, mocking Serbian fans. Novak has a history. Novak, get rid of him. I’m so relieved they can’t hear me. “.”.

However, tennis fans ignored Jones’ remarks even though he stated that he stood by his apology for offending either Djokovic or Serbian supporters.

A lot of people were quick to criticize the media veteran for making a “hollow” statement that fell flat.

“Tony Jones has ‘apologised,’ but it’s one of those hollow apologies where he apologizes for how it made someone feel, not what he did, and he makes clear that he disagrees with the feelings,” Renowned tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg wrote on X. It is not appropriate to change “I do apologize” to “I do apologize if.”. ‘”.

Tennis blogger Pavvy G wrote: “This is Tony Jones’ apology. I’m truly sorry to Djokovic and his supporters, and I wish him the best. Instead of making all these excuses and attempting to divert attention from HIS error, he should have just said a few sentences.”.

“This is what you call a word salad! What I don’t understand is why he didn’t publicly apologize after he claimed to have done so 48 hours ago in an interview with @ozmo_sasa, but he refused to do so, claiming it was merely “banter.”. Thus, his story isn’t consistent. “.”.

“The most male apology of all time is Tony Jones’ apology to Novak Djokovic,” another irate fan wrote. If what I said offended you, I apologize. “.”.

Other Channel 9 staff members were defending Jones as the outrage poured in on social media, claiming that his remarks were just an example of a sense of humor that was mistranslated.

The hosts of “Today” in Australia, Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, ridiculed the situation, while Senator Jacke Lambie, a guest panelist, humorously urged Jones to clarify his remarks.

It appeared that Djokovic was unable to comprehend Jones’ lighthearted approach, according to the media stable of Nine.

In spite of their best efforts, Jones was under fire from both fans and other athletes who were criticizing the seasoned broadcaster.

Djokovic’s main supporter was Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion.

She tweeted, “A reporter’s claim that Novak Djokovic is overrated is just ridiculous.”. “The guy literally won everything in our sport, which is how you finish tennis!”.

Another supporter of the Serb was Piers Morgan. “Djokovic is correct. That guy from Channel 9 was a complete tool. “.”.

Even Elon Musk joined the discussion when he replied to Djokovic’s X video post.

In response to the video, Musk said, “It’s much better to just speak to the public directly than to go through the negativity filter of legacy media.”.

“Yes,” Djokovic replied in writing.

However, Djokovic has accepted Jones’ apology and is now focusing entirely on his match against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night, bringing the scandal to a close.

scroll to top