Novak Djokovic made headlines after skipping his post-match on-court interview at the Australian Open because of comments made by commentator Tony Jones. Elon Musk defended the Serb on how he chose to communicate his take on why he didn’t do the interview.
Djokovic booked his place in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) win over 24th seed Jiri Lehecka. After the match, Jim Courier went to interview the Serb, who didn’t wait. Djokovic just had a short message of thanks for the crowd and left.
Later, Djokovic shared a video on Twitter, where he revealed his reason for not giving an on-court interview after the match. The Serb was far from pleased with remarks made by Channel Nine commentator Tony Jones towards him and his nation’s fans. Hence, he decided not to speak after the match, when the on-court interviews are conducted by the Australian broadcasters.
For context, Jones mocked Serbian fans and called Djokovic a “has-been” and “overrated” in an earlier broadcast for Channel Nine.
“Back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans there in full voice. The chants are quite extraordinary. Novak, he’s overated! Novak’s a has-been! Novak, kick him out! Boy I’m glad they can’t hear me,” he said.
Elon Musk, who has a net worth of $433.9 billion according to Forbes, defended Djokovic deciding to talk about the matter via a direct video to the public instead of talking to the media.
“It’s way better just to talk to the public directly than go through the negativity filter of legacy media,” the American said.
The Serb reacted to Musk’s comments with a simple, one-word reaction, saying:
“Indeed.”
Jim Courier: “Novak Djokovic didn’t feel like having a chat”
Jim Courier, who was supposed to interview Novak Djokovic after his fourth-round match at the Australian Open, said that the Serb was in no mood of having a chat after the match.
“Maybe we’ll learn more about it in the press conference afterwards, but he just didn’t feel like having a chat. I had no idea that was going to happen, but there is no obligation for these players to do that. It’s an opportunity for them to talk to people in the stadium and the fans around the world. But a player can opt out,” Courier told Eurosport.
After defeating Jiri Lehecka, the 37-year-old will next face third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinal. It will be the eighth meeting betwee the two but first at a hardcourt Major.
Whoever wins the match will face either second seed Alexander Zverev or 12th seed Tommy Paul in the semifinal.
