Novak Djokovic refuses to answer media because of insult

Tennis player Novak Djokovic has just refused to answer the official media channel of the Australian Open tennis tournament Channel 9, because he thinks the reporter of this channel disrespects him.

The incident occurred after the match between Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic) in the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, which took place yesterday (January 19). In this match, Nole won 3-0 (6-3, 6-4 and 7-6).

However, after the match ended, the Serbian player refused to be interviewed by Channel 9, the official media channel of this year’s tournament.

This is a rare occurrence, because normally athletes will give interviews after each match, especially to the tournament’s official media channels, according to the general rules of professional sports tournaments around the world.

Also after refusing to answer Channel 9, Novak Djokovic explained his decision: “I want to clarify why I did not answer this channel right on the field. A few days ago, a reporter from Channel 9 made some statements that I thought were intended to insult me ​​and my hometown fans.”

“However, after saying those harsh words, this reporter did not make any public apology, nor did Channel 9 itself. Therefore, I decided not to answer their interview.

“I have nothing against the Australian public or Jim Courier (former professional tennis player, now Channel 9 editor at the Australian Open) but I do what I think is appropriate at the moment. I’ll wait and see how Channel 9 handles the current situation,” Novak Djokovic added.

Channel 9 journalist Tony Jones is said to have made comments that upset Nole. Not long ago, Tony Jones commented that Nole “is past his prime”, as well as “Nole is overrated compared to his current ability”.

This is not the first time Novak Djokovic has had trouble at the Australian Open. Three years ago, he was unable to attend the tournament in the land of kangaroos because the host country did not allow him to enter the country due to not having received enough doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

After passing the fourth round of this year’s tournament, Djokovic will meet Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal match between Djokovic and Alcaraz will take place tomorrow (January 21).