Jim Courier, a former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion, was left baffled after Novak Djokovic declined his on-court interview following Djokovic’s victory over Jiri Lehecka. Djokovic, who secured a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win to advance to the quarter-finals, opted to give a brief statement to the crowd before walking off the court without speaking to Courier.
Courier, who has conducted numerous on-court interviews with Djokovic over the years, expressed his surprise at the decision. “I had no idea that was going to happen,” Courier said on Eurosport. “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 who might be watching.”
Despite skipping the on-court interview, Djokovic did speak to Eurosport’s Barbara Schett off-court after the match. Schett believed that Djokovic had “had enough” of the chaos and decided to avoid the interview.
Courier hoped to gain more insight into Djokovic’s decision during the press conference, but for now, the tennis world is left wondering about the reasons behind Djokovic’s unusual move.
Djokovic at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2025
Currently ranked no.7, Novak has a composed 6-1 win-loss record in 2025. Djokovic is playing at the moment at the Australian Open where he ousted the world no.107 Nishesh Basavareddy 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2, the world no.125 Jaime Faria 6-1 6-7(4) 6-3 6-2, the world no.25 Tomas Machac 6-1 6-4 6-4 and the world no.29 Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-4 7-6(4).
Novak Djokovic will fight against the world no.3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter. Their actual head to head record is 4-3 for Djokovic.
Novak won 99 titles in his career: 52 on hard courts, 20 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Jiri Lehecka in 2025
Now the world no.29, Lehecka played his last match on the 19th of January when he lost to world no.7 Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) in the 4th round of the Australian Open (draw).
Until now, during this year the Czech has achieved a composed 8-1 win-loss record. This year, Jiri won 1 title in Brisbane.
He is also scheduled to play in Rotterdam (ABN AMRO Open) on the 3rd of February and () on the 29th of December.
Novak Djokovic and Jiri Lehecka squared off just twice. Their actual head to head record is 2-0 for Djokovic.
