Novak Djokovic trampled all over Czech 24th seed Jiri Lehecka to seal a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) win on Sunday and book a blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinals before snubbing the Grand Slam’s official broadcaster.
There were moments of frustration for Djokovic towards the end of the contest and he uncharacteristically declined to do a post-match interview on Rod Laver Arena, drawing boos from a section of the crowd.
“Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your presence and support. I’ll see you in the next round. Thank you very much,” Djokovic said curtly on the court, before signing a few autographs and heading to the dressing room.
He did a post-match interview with Eurosport and addressed the topic later in his press conference saying that Tony Jones, who works for Channel Nine, had made “insulting and offensive” comments against him during a broadcast.
“A couple of days ago the famous sports journalist who works for the official broadcaster, Channel Nine here in Australia, made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” Djokovic said.
“And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology. Neither did Channel Nine. Since they’re official broadcasters, I chose not to conduct interviews with Channel Nine.
“I have nothing against (on-court interviewer) Jim Courier or the Australian public. It was an awkward situation for me to face on the court.
“I leave it to Channel Nine to handle this the way they think they see fit. That’s all.”
During Nine’s broadcast, Jones had mocked Djokovic and his fans who were out in force cheering the Serb.
“Novak he’s over-rated, Novak’s a has-been. Novak, kick him out. Oh, I’m glad they can’t hear me,” Jones said.
Reuters has contacted Channel Nine for comment.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com