A little slip of the tongue can really put you in some troubled waters, especially when you’re on a live TV show! Who knows it better now, than the veteran Australia presenter, Tony Jones? Just a day ago, we saw Novak Djokovic refusing to give a full on-court interview with commentator Jim Courier. Everyone was then wondering what could be the possible reasons behind his decision to snub that interview. After a few moments, Djokovic clarified that he wasn’t too pleased with the conduct of the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster Nine. After that, we saw several in the tennis world taking a jibe at Jones. Guess who was the most vocal among them?

Yes, you guessed it right! Novak Djokovic’s close friend, Nick Kyrgios, has been mocking Jones and defending the Serb right from the very first moment. Before jumping into his reactions let’s first take a glimpse at the timeline of this whole incident. Well, it all started with Tony Jones’ remarks on the Serb while covering the enthusiasm of the Serbian fans cheering for their idol. He said, “Back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans there in full voice. The chants are quite extraordinary. Novak, he’s overrated! Novak’s a has-been! Novak, kick him out! Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me.“

After hearing this comment on Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios was among the first ones to raise his voice against it. At first, he took a jibe at Jones through a tweet that said, “Coming from this clown – couldn’t run around a park this bloke.” After that, he came up with yet another tweet saying, “Why is it always the most un athletic people calling out the best athletes in the world.” Amid all these, he also filmed a small video clip from the player terrace towards the Nine broadcast booth. In that video clip, Nick Kyrgios was heard saying, “How the f— does this guy still have a f–ing job? It is putrid stuff. Tony Jones, you absolute flop. F—ing Chompers mate.“

Recently, Nick Kyrgios took the mocking to a whole new level by teaming up with the comedian and voice-over artist Elliot Loney for a hilarious video clip. It all started with Kyrgios and Loney dressed in Djokovic shirts, with the tennis star pretending to be a newsreader. He started the video by saying, “That’s what’s making headlines around the globe. Nick Kyrgios, live news.” After that, Loney, who was seemingly impersonating Novak Djokovic, said, “Kyrgios, he’s a has-been! Kyrgios, he’s overrated! Kyrgios, kick him out! Ha ha ha! Boy, I’m glad he can not hear me, you know because that would be..” Perhaps he tried to say exactly what Jones had said about Djokovic by using Kyrgios’ name.

After hearing this, Nick Kyrgios jumped into the scene by reminding his friend, “Novak, we’re on live television, mate!” Then Elliot Loney was seen taking an indirect dig at Jones by saying, “Aww, yeah yeah, of course. Who would be stupid enough to say that on live television?” Nick Kyrgios concluded that hilarious video clip, saying, “Yeah. No one.”

Who else apart from Nick Kyrgios has raised their voice on this controversy? Well, former Aussie legend Paul McNamee was heard saying, “Tony I’m surprised, especially as you work for the host broadcaster, that you would send up a bunch of Aussies (with European heritage) having a good time celebrating their 10-time AO champion… trying to be funny mate?” Jannik Sinner’s coach, Darren Cahill said, “I’m sure Tony was trying to be funny but it was inappropriate and I don’t blame Novak for taking offense to that.“

Cahill said that Novak Djokovic was well within his rights to ask for an apology. Even James Blake admitted it “made sense” for Novak Djokovic to “stand on his principles.” Did Jones issue an apology later on, though?

Tony Jones finally issues an apology for his controversial remarks on Novak Djokovic

Shortly after snubbing the on-court interview, Novak Djokovic clarified that he had no issues with the Aussie fans, with Jim Courier (interviewer), or with the tournament director, Craig Tiley. He also confirmed that he would continue his stance until he received an apology and said he was happy to be fined if needed. After that, we saw Channel Nine issuing an apology from their end, saying, “No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans.“

However, everyone in the tennis world was waiting for an apology from Tony Jones. And finally, a few hours after that incident, Jones opened up on the whole controversy surrounding his bizarre remarks on the 10-time AO champion. What did he say, though? Well, in a reported apology to the Serbian website, Sport Klub, Jones said, “Unfortunately, my ‘humor’ the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak. That was certainly not the case. I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament and this is – at least I thought so – a continuation of that.“

He further added, “If you watch our morning show, you’ll get an idea of how we work. At no point did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak and I apologize – there was certainly no intention to offend him.” He had even apologized on-air during Nine’s The Today Show on Monday morning. Jones also claimed that he had apologized to the Nole camp 48 hours earlier, before the star’s boycott!

However, there are still many in the tennis world who have been a bit critical of his apology, but according to Tennis Australia’s recent statements, Novak Djokovic has acknowledged that apology, and he’s now keen to put all his focus on his next match against Carlos Alcaraz. Share your thoughts on this controversial incident in the comment section.