This year at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic has responded to what he deems to be unfair treatment by the media. The Serb stated that he was portrayed as a “villain of the world” by the media during the controversy that followed his deportation last year.
Following a recent dispute with the television channel Eurosport, Djokovic told Serbian reporters following his second-round victory that he has not received backing from tennis’ governing organisations when the media has distorted or targeted him.
“Again, I am publicly asking a question: why didn’t the ATP or the Grand Slam explain the situation when they could see the media were openly lynching me?” Tennis Majors reported that he said.
In a social media post that linked to a Eurosport video, Djokovic claimed that he had been unfairly portrayed as violating the rules and defying the umpire by taking an unscheduled restroom break. The Serb said that the video was taken out of context and that the whole clip would have revealed that he had obtained permission and that the umpire merely asked him to return quickly.
“I am an easy candidate for the role of villain. This is how they represent me, and I’ve become accustomed to it, but I will not tolerate injustice,” he stated. “Some things I can tolerate, but others I cannot – they do not deserve to get away with something like this.”
Djokovic disclosed that the post was later removed, and executives from the channel contacted him, but he was disappointed that no public apology was offered. “They privately apologised to me, but no one knows about it. “I know it, and you know it because I just told you, but the vast majority of tennis fans will never hear about it,” he continued.
The 35-year-old is seeking his 10th men’s singles championship in Melbourne, which would tie Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slams. In the third round, he will face 2017 semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov.
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