Novak Djokovic so thin-skinned he is almost translucent – as proven in latest row

Novak Djokovic’s high-handed decision to boycott on-court interviews in Melbourne was almost as bizarre as the 15-second video clip that riled him up in the first place.

Djokovic refused to speak to the host broadcaster in response to a lame piece of attempted humour from Channel Nine anchorman Tony Jones, who had ridiculed the Serbian fans chanting support for their hero at Melbourne Park.

On Friday, Jones might have thought he was being funny when he tried to pretend that the fans were not actually celebrating Djokovic but instead chanting “Novak, he’s over-rated! Novak’s a has-been! Novak, kick him out!”

In fact, he just looked weird and clunky. But was it really worth creating a diplomatic incident over?

Yes, Jones’s comments might have been crass, but also they were also completely irrelevant. With his protest, Djokovic has only succeeded in boosting the profile of an otherwise obscure figure (at least, to those who do not follow Melbourne’s sporting obsession of AFL).

Looking more broadly, Djokovic’s prickly response is part of a trend. When he comes to these big events, his skin grows so thin that it becomes almost translucent. He reacts volcanically to the slightest hint of disrespect.

Just think back to another fourth-round match at a major, this one from last summer’s Wimbledon. Playing Denmark’s Holger Rune, Djokovic seemed determined to misinterpret the Centre Court crowd’s light-hearted shouts of “Ruuuune” as a way of booing him.

He gave a testy on-court interview to the BBC’s Rishi Persad after that one, saying “Have a goooood night”, and “You guys can’t touch me.” When Persad tried to point out that the fans hadn’t actually been booing him, he replied sharply: “I have been on the tour for more than 20 years, I know all the tricks.”

Tennis crowds have generally treated Djokovic with less warmth than they did his greatest rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He has clearly found this difficult to accept, as most people in his position probably would. In his mind, Serbia occupies an analogous position as a great nation that is unfairly overlooked by the rest of the world. And all these perceived slights and grudges have provided much of the fuel for his rise to become the greatest champion of all.

For a while, he tried to win the fans over with his heart-throwing celebration, which Nick Kyrgios once famously described as “cringeworthy”. Then he became more combative, often putting his finger to his ear as if to ask ‘Why aren’t you cheering me rather than my underdog opponent?’ It is a short step from there to picking fights with local broadcasters.

The whole trend feels like a psychological strategy to find enemies everywhere and thus build up the sense of siege mentality that functions so well in team sports. What Andy Murray makes of it all, from his new position as Djokovic’s coach and leading advisor, is anyone’s guess.

It seems unlikely that Djokovic is doing this in a completely calculated way. Rather, one suspects that he goes into warrior mode when he approaches the most challenging moments in his career.

Once Djokovic has entered this mindset, he spies perceived threats everywhere. It sharpens his hunger and brings out his inner wolf – the spirit animal he has identified with ever since he saw packs of wolves roaming the Serbian forests during his upbringing. And it seems to work extremely well.

After this latest Djokovic flare-up, the person with most to worry about may not in fact be Tony Jones, but rather his next opponent: the man who beat him in last year’s Wimbledon final, Carlos Alcaraz. It’s payback time for all.

Djokovic rages at Australian Open broadcaster

Djokovic has put himself at loggerheads with the Australian Open’s host broadcaster by refusing to give any more on-court interviews until he receives an apology from anchorman Tony Jones.

The move was prompted by Djokovic’s disgust at the 15-second piece to camera that Jones had performed on Channel Nine on Friday after Djokovic’s previous victory over Tomas Machac.

As the Serbian fans chanted support for Djokovic in the garden area outside Rod Laver Arena, Jones looked out over the assembled flags and said: “Back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans there in full voice. Yeah, their chants are quite extraordinary. ‘Novak, he’s over-rated! Novak’s a has-been! Novak, kick him out!’ Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me.”

In the interview room after his fourth-round victory, Djokovic gave a statement explaining his refusal to take questions from on-court interviewer Jim Courier.

“Couple days ago the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster Channel Nine made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” Djokovic said. “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.”

An hour or so earlier, Djokovic’s refusal to perform the conventional post-match interview had drawn a smattering of boos from the 15,000 fans in Rod Laver Arena.

After completing his straightforward 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 victory over the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, Djokovic had taken the microphone from Courier and made a brief statement – “Thank you very much for being here tonight, I appreciate your presence and the support, I’ll see you in the next round” – before stalking out of the stadium.

At the time, it was assumed that he had been reacting to some perceived hostility from the fans. There had been a moment, late in the third set, when he complained to chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani that “they’re doing it on purpose, it’s so obvious”.

But whatever Djokovic was noticing, it was not so obvious to others. Later, in the interview room, he was asked whether he had been irritated by the crowd. “Nothing that really stands out or extraordinary,” he replied. “Every match something different happens. I already explained myself the reason why I wasn’t giving an interview is not for the crowd, it was for the Channel Nine situation.”

Even more oddly, it turns out that Jones had already given an apology to the Serbian website sportklub. He was quoted on Saturday as saying “Unfortunately, my ‘humour’ the other night was misinterpreted as an attack on Novak. That was certainly not the case. I’ve been joking with Serbian fans throughout the tournament and this is – at least I thought so – a continuation of that.

“If you watch our morning show, you’ll get an idea of how we work. At no point did I mean to show any disrespect to Novak and I apologise – there was certainly no intention to offend him.”

This was the second time in less than 24 hours that Jones had been discussed in the interview room in a less than flattering manner. The previous instance had involved Danielle Collins, the American player whom Jones had described as “a brat” for baiting fans and slapping her own backside on Thursday night.

“I love this old guy, Tony Jones,” said Collins sarcastically after her third-round exit at the hands of Madison Keys. “Sorry [to] everybody in the room that’s over, like, 70. I just love how he called me a brat. It’s just so Gen Z and Millennial right now with Charli XCX [the singer who made the word ‘brat’ a catchphrase last year].”

Gaffes by Australian frontmen are not unknown at this tournament. The 2013 presentation ceremony featured a memorable line from master of ceremonies Sandy Gordon, who introduced runner-up Li Na with the words “She’s battered, she’s bruised, and she’s quite possibly buggered.”

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.