Source : the age
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There are less than 30 minutes until we see some on-court action today.
First up on Rod Laver Arena will be Elina Svitolina and Veronika Kudermetova, followed on the same court by Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune (not before 2pm).
It will be doubles, wheelchair and juniors kicking off the action on the other courts today.
The Serbian Council of Australia says it has lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission over Tony Jones’ comments last Friday.
In a statement posted to the council’s Facebook page and dated Sunday January 19, the council said Jones’ comments were “offensive, racist and only serve to incite further discrimination of Australian-Serbs”.
“A complaint has been lodged with the Human Rights Commission in relation to Mr Tony Jones and Channel 9 following comments made by Channel Nine sports commentator Mr Tony Jones during a live broadcast on the evening of 17 January 2025,” the council’s statement said.
Tony Jones’ broadcast with Serbian fans has angered the Serbian Council of Australia.Credit: Nine
“Evidence from crowd members suggests that Mr Jones invited Australian-Serbian fans before a live broadcast and asked them to begin chanting and cheering. The fans were led to believe that they would be filmed as part of a Channel Nine segment on Australian Open fans. However, the footage shows Mr Jones mocking the Australian-Serbian fans behind him both through his comments and body language.
“Mr Jones started the broadcast by saying that ‘Novak, he’s overrated’. He proceeds to exclaim that ‘Novak a has-been. Novak, kick him out’. For Australian-Serbs, the words ‘kick him out’ is akin to saying ‘kick the Serbs out of Australia’ because there is strong evidence of feelings of exclusion due to media reporting about Australian-Serbs in the past.
“SCOFA submitted a report to the Federal Government called ‘Experiences of Vilification and Discrimination of Australian Serbs following the deportation of Novak Djokovic in January 2022’. It shows that the Australian-Serbian community was exposed to anti-Serb sentiment during and after Novak Djokovic’s deportation. Much of this anti-Serb sentiment was fuelled by negative media of Serbs more generally.
“We hereby demand that Channel 9:
1. Immediately suspend Mr Tony Jones down from all sports broadcasting duties at Channel 9, in particular all duties to do with the Australian Open 2025;
2. Dismiss Mr Tony Jones from his broadcasting role with Channel 9; and
3. Issue SCOFA, and particularly the Australian-Serbian community and all Australian Open fans a formal apology, which is to be published on the Channel 9 website, newspaper and TV.”
Channel Nine has released a statement following Tony Jones’ on-air apology this morning.
Nine would like to apologise to Novak Djokovic for any offence caused from comments made during a recent live cross. No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans. We look forward to further showcasing his Australian Open campaign at Melbourne Park.
Serbian media are reporting on Tony Jones’ on-air apology, but also reminding readers of Jones’ comments about the 10-time Australian Open champion in 2022, when he was kicked out of Australia due to his COVID vaccination status.
Serbian tabloids report that Jones, whom they describe as having insulted Djokovic and Serbs, had “earlier attacked” Djokovic.
Several websites have reported Jones’ comments from 2022, when, according to a story from nine.com.au at the time, Jones said:
“There is certainly sentiment running high for Novak Djokovic which certainly wasn’t the case probably two weeks ago when he was very much the villain.
Novak Djokovic leaving Melbourne’s Park Hotel immigration detention before being deported.Credit: Luis Ascui
“But now the villain, it would seem, has become a victim.
“I just wonder if he does actually win this court case and whether he does take to the court at Melbourne Park whether in fact the reception might be a little different than what it would have been had he not found himself in this predicament.”
Jones said at the time the situation should have been sorted before Djokovic boarded the plane bound for Melbourne.
“My view is quite simple. Novak Djokovic should never have been here in the first place,” Jones said.
Speaking on Nine this morning, Jones said he stood by the apology to Djokovic and Serbian fans he had issued to the Djokovic camp after the Serbian star refused the on-court interview following his fourth-round victory last night, over Jones’ comments about him and Serbian fans that he had branded insulting.
Jones said on Nine: “I think the one thing where I overstepped the mark, and this is certainly what’s really sort of angered Novak Djokovic and his camp, is the last comment I made in that back-and-forth with the crowd – ‘kick him out’.
“Now, I can stand here and put whatever spin on in that, but it can only be interpreted as a throwback to the COVID years when he [Djokovic] was kicked out [over his vaccination status]. Now, that has angered Novak, which I completely understand now. So look, it’s it has been an unfortunate situation. It’s been one of personal angst for Novak. It’s quite clearly personal angst for me as well. But I just think the priority here now is to focus on the tennis again.”
Carlos Alcaraz is already a tennis star, despite being just 21. But did you know he has a younger brother, Jaime, who is also a tennis player?
Jaime, who is 13, won his first match in qualifying at a well-known tournament in France for young players, called Les Petits As.
Many ultimately successful pros, including Jaime’s big brother, and Rafael Nadal, competed at that event long before embarking on their careers at the highest level.
AP
On the cusp of snapping his Australian Open round of 16 hoodoo and reaching a fourth straight major quarter-final, the story behind the incremental improvements for Australia’s best player Alex de Minaur lies in the numbers.
Detailed data analysis done by Tennis Australia shows how de Minaur has made subtle, but important tactical changes in the past 12–24 months that have helped make him the top “returning” player in men’s tennis.
The changes, including his positioning when returning second serves and how he uses his forehand, have sent him soaring up the statistical leaderboards.
Ahead of de Minaur’s match tonight, read all about the changes in his game here.
In his on-air apology and explanation of the Djokovic boycott drama, Jones conceded he had overstepped the mark in one particular area.
“If I could turn back time, right, and I know we’ve all got PhDs in hindsight, I think the one thing where I overstepped the mark, and this is certainly what’s really sort of angered Novak Djokovic and his camp, is the last comment I made in that back-and-forth with the crowd – ‘kick him out’,” Jones said on Nine.
Tony Jones on Monday.Credit: Nine
“Now, I can stand here and put whatever spin on in that, but it can only be interpreted as a throwback to the COVID years when he [Djokovic] was kicked out [over his vaccination status]. Now, that has angered Novak, which I completely understand now. So look, it’s it has been an unfortunate situation. It’s been one of personal angst for Novak. It’s quite clearly personal angst for me as well. But I just think the priority here now is to focus on the tennis again.
“He’s got an amazing match coming up tomorrow night against Carlos Alcaraz, and I hope that you know, his focus can now be on that, and my focus is now the broadcast again, so I can only, I can only again, tell Novak what I told him 48 hours ago, and that is, I do apologise if he felt that I disrespected him. I should also add that in the correspondence with Novak’s team, I agreed to meet with them in person to discuss all this. They came back and said ‘Yes, we’d be keen to meet in person’. That hasn’t transpired, but I’m sure it will over the next 24 hours.”
Tony Jones is speaking now about the Novak Djokovic controversy.
Jones says he had contacted Djokovic’s camp on Saturday to apologise.
“If I could just give you a bit of a timeline here, the comments were made on the news on Friday night, which I considered to be banter,” Jones told Nine this morning.
“I considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do you now, whether it be the Sunday Footy Show, whether it be the morning show here. Having said that, I was made aware on the Saturday morning from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments.
“Now, as such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them, so this is 48 hours ago, for any disrespect that Novak felt that I’d caused. And as I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does.
“Now, I should also say the disrespect was extended, I guess, in many ways, to the Serbian fans. Now, as you know, being here over the seven years, we’ve built up a nice rapport with the Serbian fans. They come here with the flags, and they provide so much colour and so much passion, and there was banter. So I thought what I was doing was an extension of that banter, quite clearly that hasn’t been interpreted that way. So I do feel as though I’ve let down the Serbian fans.
“Now I’m not just saying this to try to wriggle out of trouble or anything. I genuinely feel for those fans.”
Djokovic’s on-court interview boycott sparked discussion around the world.
Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka questioned “the audacity” of calling Djokovic overrated.
This chat, featuring Australia’s Darren Cahill, was broadcast on ESPN.
“I’m sure Tony [Jones] was trying to be funny,” Cahill said. “But it was inappropriate and I don’t blame Novak for taking offence to that.”
Elon Musk weighed in too, in favour of Djokovic’s decision to circumvent the media.
