Novak Djokovic qualified for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open against Carlos Alcaraz with a convincing victory over Jiri Lehica.
Djokovic continued his quest to win the 25th Grand Slam title, a record, by defeating the 24th-seeded Czech with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
He will face Alcaraz in the quarter-finals after the Spanish player qualified after British number one Jack Draper withdrew due to a thigh injury earlier on Sunday.
Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, but the Serb edged out the 21-year-old to win gold at the Paris Olympics last summer – what Djokovic described as “the greatest sporting achievement”.
The crowd booed Djokovic when Lehica threatened to force a fourth set, and the 11-time Australian Open champion quickly left Rod Laver Arena after his victory.
“Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your support and I will see you in the next round,” the 37-year-old said.
Speaking at a press conference afterwards, Djokovic explained his reasons for deviating from his usual on-court interview with four-time Grand Slam winner Jim Courier.
He pointed to the actions of Channel Nine news anchor Tony Jones, who shouted “Novak, he's overrated, Novak was in bad form, Novak fire him” towards Djokovic's fans during a live on-camera broadcast on Friday.
“Two days ago, a famous sports journalist who works for the official Channel 9 here in Australia made fun of Serbian fans and also made insulting and insulting comments to me,” Djokovic said.
“As they are official broadcasters, I have chosen not to give interviews to Channel 9. I have nothing against Jim Courier or the Australian public.
“It was very embarrassing for me.”
Jones said on Monday that he thought the comments were “joking” and “humor”, but offered an on-air apology, an apology he said he had already made to Djokovic's team 48 hours earlier.
He added: “I stand by this apology to Novak, if he feels any disrespect, which he clearly does.”
Channel Nine also issued a public apology, saying: “There was no harm aimed at Novak or his fans.”
