In case you missed it last night, Novak Djokovic refused to take part in the customary post-match, on-court interview after a win.

Djokovic said he would refuse any interviews with host broadcaster Channel Nine, owner of this masthead, until he received an apology over comments made by the network’s sports anchor Tony Jones that he deemed to be “insulting and offensive”.

The 10-time Australian Open champion chose not to speak on court to Jim Courier after booking his spot in the quarter-finals for the 15th time in Melbourne. Later, in his media conference, he told reporters he would continue his boycott of the local broadcaster until he gets an apology.

Djokovic said he believed comments made by Jones on Channel Nine last week “made a mockery of Serbian fans”.

His pledge to maintain a boycott of the network was repeated in a video posted on one of his social media accounts late on Sunday night.

“I have to stand by my decision and hold this stance until something is done,” Djokovic said in his video.

“That thing is done, so I leave it to Channel Nine and, hopefully, that situation will change for the next match.”

Serbian website Sport klub contacted Jones, who said his flat joke was the culprit.

“Unfortunately, my ‘humour’ from the previous night was wrongly interpreted as an attack on Novak. That was certainly not the case,” Jones was quoted as saying for Sport klub in an article with a date stamp of Saturday, the day before Djokovic’s match.

He said he had fun with Serbian supporters throughout the tournament.

“This was – at least I thought that way – a continuation of all that,”

“If you watch our morning show, you would get the idea how we work. Not for one moment did I think to show disrespect for Novak and I apologise – there certainly was no intention of insulting him.”

Djokovic is next scheduled to play on Tuesday in a blockbuster quarter-final against Spanish young gun Carlos Alcaraz.