• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Australian Open 2025: Novak Djokovic got the better of 24th seed Jiri Lehecka to seal a 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) win on Sunday and made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2025.

There were moments of frustration for Djokovic towards the end of the match and he uncharacteristically declined to do an on-court interview on Rod Laver Arena, drawing boos from a section of the crowd.

At the end of tennis matches, it is usual that the winner shares a few words on the on-court interview but Djokovic's reaction sparked huge controversy as everyone was left baffled.

However, Djokovic explained his decision later, saying that he boycotted the on-court interaction because of some anti-Serbian comments from the presenter of the lead broadcaster of the Australian Open.

"I would like to just clarify the reason why the interview was not conducted on the court, the post-match interview, like it's a common, usual practice. A couple of days ago the famous sports journalist (Tony Jones) who works for the official broadcaster, Channel 9 here in Australia, made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me. And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology. Neither did Channel 9," Djokovic said in the post-match press conference as quoted by Fox Sports.

"So since they're official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9. I have nothing against Jim Courier or neither the Australian public. It was a very awkward situation for me to face on the court today. It's unfortunate I chose to say something to the crowd, but obviously wasn't the time and space or situation for me to explain what I'm doing right now," he added.

On Friday, Jones was reading a bulletin when a large group of Djokovic fans who were holding Serbian flags were cheering for their national hero.

"Welcome back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans, they're 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. Anyway, let's get onto the tennis," the presenter had said.