The stand-off between Novak Djokovic and the Australian Open’s host broadcaster Channel Nine became such a hot topic on Monday that it was discussed by Elon Musk and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, despite anchorman Tony Jones apologising on air for his controversial remarks.

Djokovic had surprised fans on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night by refusing to perform an on-court interview. This came in response to a ham-fisted attempt at humour from Jones two days earlier, in which he pretended that Serbian fans were chanting “Novak, he’s overrated! Novak’s a has-been! Novak, kick him out!”

Later, during his post-match press conference, Djokovic declined to name Jones but said that “the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster, Channel Nine here in Australia, made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me. And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology. Neither did Channel Nine. So since they’re official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel Nine.”

It emerged after Djokovic’s interview snub that Jones had actually apologised already. But he had done so in a short interview with the Serbian sportklub website, and his comments had not been widely seen.

On Monday morning’s Channel Nine news, Jones gave a fuller explanation, in which he described his on-air performance from Friday night as “banter” and said that he had already sent an apology to the Djokovic camp on Saturday.

“I considered it to be humour, which is consistent with most things I do,” Jones told a Channel Nine colleague in a short televised interview. “Having said that, I was made aware on Saturday morning from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments.

“As such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them. And as I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak … I do apologise if he felt that I disrespected him.”

‘I overstepped the mark’

Jones said that he felt he had “let down” the Serbian fans, and that he particularly regretted the final remark in his bantering sequence from Friday. “If I could turn back time, and I know we’ve all got PhDs in hindsight, the one thing where I overstepped the mark … is the last comment I made,” he said.

“I can stand here and put whatever spin on that, but it can only be interpreted as a throwback to the Covid years when he [Djokovic] was kicked out [in a row over his vaccination status]. Now, that has angered Novak, which I completely understand.”

On Monday afternoon, Tennis Australia confirmed that the apology had had the desired effect. “Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested,” said a spokesperson, “and is now moving on and focusing on his next match.”

By that point, the controversy had led news bulletins in Australia throughout the day. Its profile reached the point where even prime minister Albanese was asked for his response.

“I’ll let that go through to the ’keeper – that’s a matter between them,” said Albanese, using a cricket analogy. “But I think Novak Djokovic is certainly a fine tennis player, there’s no question about that, and I do think that there is a place for more respect.

“I’ve seen the comments that were made by the broadcaster … We need more kindness and generosity and respect just across the board. I think that’s what people are looking for.”

‘Absolute tool’

Meanwhile, Elon Musk reposted Djokovic’s video message:

In the UK, Piers Morgan commented: “Djokovic is right. That Channel Nine guy was an absolute tool.”

A number of players and former players came out in support of Djokovic, including his former coach Boris Becker, who tweeted: “That’s actually very disturbing behaviour from TV broadcaster who works for Channel … does he still have a job for the rest of the tournament?”

Nick Kyrgios, who recently teamed up with Djokovic for the ATP doubles event in Brisbane, posted the original video to Facebook with the caption: “How the f--- does this guy still have a f------ job? It is putrid stuff. Tony Jones, you absolute flop.” Earlier, Kyrgios had posted: “Why is it always the most un-athletic people calling out the best athletes in the world.”

Former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka tweeted:

On top of Jones’ on-air apology, Channel Nine also put out a statement saying: “Nine would like to apologise to Novak Djokovic for any offence caused from comments made during a recent live cross. No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans. We look forward to further showcasing his Australian Open campaign at Melbourne Park.”

Finally, a representative for the Serbian Council of Australia (Scofa) submitted a formal complaint to the Human Rights Commission. In a press release, the organisation pointed out that Jones had “invited Australian-Serbian fans … to begin chanting and cheering” so that he could use them as a backdrop for his live broadcast, and suggested that “For Australian-Serbs, the words ‘kick him out’ is akin to saying ‘kick the Serbs out of Australia’.”

As Scofa board member Dr Nina Markovic told ABC Radio in a live interview: “The Serbian Council of Australia is deeply concerned that the comments made by Tony Jones will encourage vilification of Aussie Serbs as has happened in 2022 … We believe that this could have been in breach of section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act, and section 20c of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.”