Elon Musk, Piers Morgan weigh in on Novak Djokovic's Channel 9 feud at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic’s boycott of Australia’s Channel 9 has made headlines around the world, and now some of the biggest names in tennis and media are weighing in.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who owns X, formerly known as Twitter, and English journalist Piers Morgan took to social media to show support for Djokovic—who walked off the court at Rod Laver Arena after skipping his fourth-round post-match interview with Jim Courier on Saturday. (Video above)

Read More: Novak Djokovic boycotts on-court interview amid Channel 9 row at Australian Open

The move was in response to a video of broadcaster Tony Jones appearing to mock a group of Serbian fans rooting for Djokovic. Jones asked them to chant Djokovic’s name during his news read, and then seemed to join in—but instead he chanted, “Novak is overrated ... Novak’s a has-been ... Novak kick him out. I am glad that they can’t hear me!”

Viewers on TV heard him loud and clear, and later so did Djokovic as the clip made the rounds on social media:

“The reason why I didn’t do an interview, that is common practice after the matches for the winner to do a post-match interview… is because a few days ago, a famous sports journalist from here in Australia who works for the main broadcaster of the Australian Open, Channel 9, decided to mock Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” Djokovic explained in a selfie video shared to X.

“Since then, he chose not to issue any public apology, and neither did Channel 9. So, since they're official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9.”

On Saturday, the former world No. 1 comfortably took down Jiri Lehecka in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to book a spot in the quarterfinals. When Courier approached him for the post-match interview, Djokovic instead took the microphone to briefly address the crowd, thanking fans for their support before quickly leaving the court.

Read More: Jim Courier: Channel 9 row may be “net positive” for fired up Novak Djokovic at Australian Open

The move was initially met with confusion, as fans on Laver responded with boos. But it earned Djokovic strong support online, as Musk later shared the Serbian’s video message to his more than 214 million X followers with the caption: “It’s way better just to talk to the public directly than go through the negativity filter of legacy media.”

He was also backed by journalist Morgan, who added, “Djokovic is right. That Channel 9 guy was an absolute tool”— a sentiment that was shared by players and fans online.

“That’s actually very disturbing behaviour from a TV broadcaster who works for Channel 9… Does he still have a job for the rest of the tournament?” asked six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker.

“The audacity to call Novak Djokovic overrated by a reporter is just insane. The guy literally completed tennis by winning everything you can in our sport!” added former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013.

Nick Kyrgios, who played doubles alongside Djokovic in the lead-up to AO, reposted his video and asked: “Why is it always the most unathletic people calling out the best athletes in the world?”

Even Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese has weighed in, calling for "more respect" when asked about the incident.

"That’s a matter between them, but I think Novak Djokovic is certainly a fine tennis player. There’s no question about that," Albanese said.

“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.”

Jones, who was already under fire for calling Danielle Collins a “brat” for her behavior earlier in the tournament, said his comments were just “humor” as he addressed the incident before the start of play on Monday. He also claimed that he had extended a private apology to Djokovic before he took the court on Saturday.

Read More: Nine Network, journalist Tony Jones apologize to Novak Djokovic after Australian Open interview gaffe

“I considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do,” Jones said on air.

"I was made aware on the Saturday morning from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments. Now, as such, I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them. So this is 48 hours ago.

“For any disrespect that Novak felt that I'd caused, and as I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does."

The private mea culpa apparently wasn’t enough for Djokovic, who made it clear in his press conference that he’s expecting public apologies from both Jones and Channel 9. Djokovic also confirmed that he has informed tournament director Craig Tiley that the boycott will remain in effect until he receives them.

“I told him, you know, If you guys want to fine me for not giving an on-court interview, that's okay, I'll accept that 'cause I feel like this is something that needs to be done,” Djokovic said. “That's all there is to it.”

No. 7 seed Djokovic, a ten-time champion in Melbourne, will face No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.