Close-up of a hand holding a handheld microphone with a black foam cover. The person wearing a gray jacket is partially visible in the background, holding the microphone as though conducting an interview.

Tennis great and 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic snubbed tennis legend Jim Courier, leaving him hanging as Courier waited for an on-court interview.

The reason for the visible snub?

Djokovic was not too happy with comments made by Tony Jones – who works for the Nine Network – and are broadcasting this year’s Australian Open.

While Djokovic fulfilled his commitments and attended Sunday’s post-match press conference, he said that it was due to Jones “offensive comments” that he had boycotted the on-court interview.

Jones’ defence for the comments was that it was simply “banter” with the Serbian supporters and that it was all in jest.

It seems that Djokovic didn’t see it that way – this all from the man who is known for being a bit of a clown and has him dubbed ‘The Djoker’ in the media.

Djokovic has always enjoyed a push and pull relationship with the Australian media. The type of tennis player that could take a joke and enjoys a laugh.

But two things can be true at once. He can be that type of person while also finding some remarks offensive – like the ones made by Jones.

It seems that Djokovic took issue with Jones’s ‘kick him out’ comment. He probably wasn’t too happy being called “overrated” either. Fair enough.

Jones adds: “I can stand here and put whatever spin I want on that, but it can only be interpreted as a throwback to the Covid years when he was kicked out.”

Jones put his hand up and issued an apology to the Djokovic camp, which Djokovic accepted.

At its core, words have weight and they carry significant meaning. Of course, context also plays a crucial part in deriving meaning and understanding.

At the Australian Open, sure there is a place for some back-and-forth banter, a bit of humour and jest – as long as it’s in good faith and everyone is in on the joke.

It’s when people with a platform being paid to do a job start to dig in and get personal is when it can become problematic, as we just witnessed during this Australian Open.

Tony Nicholls

Tony Nicholls

Founder and Director of Good Talent Media

Tony Nicholls is an accomplished journalist who has held roles for more than ten years with the ABC, SBS and Network Ten, covering thousands of news stories across Victoria, Australia and in the international media.

 

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