Australian Open commentators hollow Novak Djokovic apology includes staggering claim

The war between Tony Jones and Novak Djokovic appears to be over.Djokovic demanded a public apology from Jones over “offensive comments” he made about the former world No.1 during a live broadcast.The Serbian’s boycott threatened to derail the Australian Open, but Jones publicly apologized on Monday to the 24-time Grand Slam champion who acknowledged the remarks and is set on putting it behind him.Jones’ apology included a sensational claim that he had already secretly apologized to members of Djokovic’s support team behind the scenes in secret — more than 24 hours before Djokovic’s walk-off.Jones taunted Serbian fans and sang during a broadcast: “Novak, he’s overrated.

… Novak’s a has-been.Novak, kick him out.

Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me.”But despite saying he stood by his apology for causing any disrespect to both Djokovic and Serbian fans, Jones’ words fell on deaf ears for tennis fans.Many were quick to blast the media veteran for delivering a “hollow” statement that missed the mark.Renowned tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg wrote on X: “Tony Jones has ‘apologized,’ but it’s one of those hollow apologies where he apologizes for how it made someone feel, not what he did, and he makes clear that he disagrees with the feelings.‘I do apologize’ shouldn’t become ‘I do apologize if.'”Tennis blogger Pavvy G wrote: “Here is Tony Jones apology, instead of all the excuses and trying to deflect the attention away from HIS mistake, he should have just said a couple of sentences, I’m really sorry to Djokovic and his fans and wish him the best.“This is what you call a word salad! What I don’t understand is he said he apologized to the Djokovic camp 48 hours ago, so why didn’t he do so publicly? He was interviewed by @ozmo_sasa on Saturday and refused to apologize saying it was just ‘banter.’ So his story doesn’t add up.”Another irate fan wrote: “Tony Jones’ apology to Novak Djokovic is the most m...