Tennis

Djokovic reaches Australian Open quarters, seeks apology from broadcaster

January 20, 2025 5:54 am

Novak Djokovic [Source: Reuters]

Novak Djokovic trampled all over Czech 24th seed Jiri Lehecka to seal a 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) win yesterday and book a blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals before snubbing the Grand Slam’s official broadcaster.

After a couple of tough early tests, Djokovic sharpened his tools in the hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam crown and 11th at Melbourne Park with a mauling of Czech Tomas Machac in the last round and was again at his impressive best against Lehecka.

There were moments of frustration for Djokovic towards the end of the contest and he uncharacteristically declined to do a post-match interview on Rod Laver Arena, drawing boos from a section of the crowd.

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He did a post-match interview with Eurosport and addressed the topic later in his press conference saying that Tony Jones, who works for Channel Nine, had made “insulting and offensive” comments against him during a broadcast.

During Nine’s broadcast, Jones had mocked Djokovic and his fans who were out in force cheering the Serb.

Reuters has contacted Channel Nine for comment.

On the court, a solitary break in the eighth game was all Djokovic needed to take the opening set, as the 37-year-old looked in total control despite playing well within himself in perfect conditions at a packed centre court.

Seventh seed Djokovic attacked Lehecka’s serve early in the next set and efficiently doubled his advantage in the match, as the 23-year-old Czech was left with a mountain to climb to equal his feat of reaching the quarter-finals two years ago.

A rejuvenated Lehecka recovered after dropping serve again and stayed in the fight to frustrate Djokovic in the third set, but there was only going to be one winner when the Serb went ahead 4-2 in the tiebreak.

With Djokovic’s forehand and serve clicking back into gear, he comfortably closed out the win to equal his now retired rival Roger Federer’s all-time record of 15 appearances in the last-eight stage of the Melbourne Park major