'I had no idea' - Jim Courier reacts to Novak Djokovic not wanting to do on-court interview after win at Australian Open

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Eurosport expert Jim Courier has given his reaction to Novak Djokovic not wishing to conduct an on-court interview after his last-16 victory at the Australian Open. The 10-time champion had just beaten Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) on Rod Laver Arena to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz, but he did not stay for a normal post-match interview with Courier on court.

'I had no idea!' - Courier explains Djokovic not wanting to do post-match interview

Video credit: TNT Sports

Jim Courier has provided his perspective after Novak Djokovic declined to give an on-court interview following his fourth-round victory at the Australian Open.

Djokovic, the 10-time champion in Melbourne, decided not to participate in the on-court interview with Courier in the immediate aftermath of his 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) win over Jiri Lehecka on Rod Laver Arena, instead opting to give a short address to the crowd before walking away.

The Serbian was involved in an extraordinary exchange with a heckler in his previous round’s on-court interview, where he responded, "Sorry mate, I have a wife", when someone shouted out as he was answering a question.

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Djokovic had admitted in that interview to feeling "very hot-headed", and he appeared to be frustrated once more by spectator shouts and noise during his last-16 encounter.

Speaking on Eurosport, Courier offered an explanation for Djokovic not wishing to be interviewed - as the 24-time Grand Slam winner instead opted to offer a short statement of gratitude to the fans before heading off the court.

"It’s a very simple thing," Courier said, before joking: "He’s been watching my interviews in the last couple of days, and he was like, ‘Look, I’m going to the pro - I’m skipping you, I’m going to Babsi [Barbara Schett].’

Watch bizarre moment Djokovic declines post-match interview on court

Video credit: TNT Sports

"He just went straight to Babsi because he knows that he needs to go where the good stuff is going to be.

"Maybe we’ll learn more about it afterwards in the press conference. But he just didn’t feel like having a chat with us. I had no idea that was going to happen.

"There is no obligation for these players to do that. It’s an opportunity for them to speak to the people in the stadium, and the fans around the world that might be watching.

"A player can opt out. Initially, I thought there might be - if a player is cramping or injured - they might opt out of it. I don’t think it was that. I hope we’ll get a little more colour on it."

Speaking in his press conference, Djokovic cleared the air about the situation and wanted to make it clear that he had no issue with Courier.

Djokovic clarifies on-court interview incident, eyes 'battle' with Alcaraz in quarters

Video credit: SNTV

He explained: "I would like to just clarify the reason why the interview was not conducted on the court, the post-match interview, like it's a common, usual practice.

"Couple days ago the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster, Channel 9 here in Australia, made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me. And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology.

"Neither did Channel 9. So since they're official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9. I have nothing against Jim Courier or neither the Australian public. It was a very awkward situation for me to face on the court today.

"It's unfortunate I chose to say something to the crowd, but obviously wasn't the time and space or situation for me to explain what I'm doing right now. I leave it to Channel 9 to handle this the way they think they see fit. That's all."

Fellow Eurosport pundit Schett, who conducted an exclusive post-match interview with Djokovic afterwards, thought that the 24-time Grand Slam winner had "had enough" of the chaos.

"I thought that, in the last match, some of the spectators got under his skin a little bit," Schett explained.

"The same thing happened today. Maybe he’d just had enough, and thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to skip it today'. It’s nothing personal against you [to Courier]."

Djokovic was packing away his racquets and equipment at his bench before he made his way over to Courier after the match, but he did not drop his bags in preparation to be interviewed.

Instead, he leaned over to Courier, took the microphone, and said: "Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate the presence and support. I’ll see you next round. Thank you very much."

He then proceeded to walk off court, which cued loud boos around Rod Laver Arena.

Watch as Djokovic speaks to tournament director after skipping post-match interview

Video credit: TNT Sports

In the Eurosport commentary box, Simon Reed commented: "That’s interesting.

"He was riled by something here, but he didn’t want to be interviewed by Jim Courier, because maybe he was wary that he might say something that might have repercussions later on."

Djokovic reached his 15th quarter-final at the Australian Open with the victory over Lehecka, and is bidding for a first major title - a 25th in total - since the 2023 US Open.

He completed his career ‘Golden Slam’ with a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

He will face Carlos Alcaraz in a mouth-watering quarter-final at Melbourne Park, after Alcaraz benefited from a Jack Draper walkover earlier on Sunday.

The Spaniard, the No. 3 seed, is himself chasing his own career Grand Slam - and will become the youngest ever male player to achieve the feat if he wins the Melbourne title. He led Draper 7-5 6-1 before the British No. 1 retired injured.

Watch and stream the 2025 Australian Open live on Eurosport and discovery+

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