Novak Djokovic has given an explanation for his decision to snub an on-court interview with Jim Courier after his latest Australian Open win.
The 10-time Australian Open came through a tricky match against Jiri Lehecka to progress to the quarter-finals.
Djokovic had to contend with a few rowdy spectators throughout the match with the 24-time Grand Slam champion booed by some sections.
There were even more jeers after the match when Djokovic was expected to conduct his on-court interview after the match.
Novak Djokovic revealed the reason for snubbing the on-court interview
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Djokovic instead grabbed the microphone from Courier and said a quick thank you before exiting the court and not answering any questions.
The crowd booed once again as Djokovic left the arena and he's now spoken out on the controversial incident.
"Hey guys," Djokovic started in a video uploaded to social media.
"Thank you all for the support. Great match against Lehecka, who's in form. Looking forward to the next match up with Carlos.
"I just want to take a moment to reflect on what happened on the court. The reason why I did not do an interview that is a common practice after the matches for the winner and I just wanted to make sure I clarify with everyone what happened.
"The reason I chose not to do that is because a few days ago, a famous sports journalist here from Australia who works for a main broadcaster of Australian Open at Channel Nine decided to mock Serbian fans and he made insulting and offensive comments towards me.
"I was hoping he was going to apologise in public, which he hasn't done yet. Neither did Channel Nine.
"That's the only reason I didn't do the interview. It was of course not a great feeling for me and it was quite awkward.
"Jim Courier was the one who came out and I have tremendous respect for him and I always love speaking to Jim.
Tony Jones caused a stir on social media for his comments about Novak Djokovic and Serbian fans
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"I know a lot of people wanted to hear me speak so I apologise for everyone being in the stadium and not being able to hear me speak.
"That's the main reason and I have to stand by my decision and hold this stance until something is done so I leave it to Channel Nine and hopefully that situation will change for the next match."
Channel 9 reporter Tony Jones caused a stir online earlier this week when he turned to face a group of Djokovic supporters holding Serbian flags and said: "Novak's overrated. Novak's a has-been.
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"Novak, kick him out...Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me."
Jones did issue an apology to Balkan TV channel SportKlub, but Djokovic seemingly wants a more public statement.
"Unfortunately, my 'humour' the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak. That was certainly not the case. I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament and this is – at least I thought so – a continuation of that," Jones told SportKlub.
"If you watch our morning show, you’ll get an idea of how we work. At no point did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak and I apologize – there was certainly no intention to offend him."
