“Hello Wimbledon,” wrote Novak Djokovic on social media as he touched down at the All England Club, ready to trade clay for grass. The Serb has started training ahead of the tournament, which begins on June 30. He didn’t play any grass-court warm-ups, so his first official match since Roland Garros will be his opener on Centre Court. But the 24-time Grand Slam champ is no stranger to skipping warm-ups. This time, he’s chasing two huge milestones: tying Roger Federer’s 8 Wimbledon titles and winning a record 25th Grand Slam. There’s another reason the seven-time Wimbledon champion might be feeling a bit lighter in London this year. One reporter he had a public spat with earlier in the season won’t be covering Wimbledon anymore.

Australian broadcaster Channel Nine has decided not to send veteran presenter Tony Jones to SW19. The 63-year-old is usually a regular at Wimbledon but won’t be flying over this summer. Instead, the network will rely on its London bureau and send over Todd Woodbridge, Alicia Molik, Sam McClure, and Jelena Dokic for the tournament coverage.

The drama between Jones and Djokovic started at the Australian Open. During a news segment, Jones appeared to mock a group of Serbian fans cheering for Djokovic. He asked them to chant Djokovic’s name, then joined in with, “Novak is overrated … Novak’s a has-been … Novak kick him out. I am glad that they can’t hear me!”

Unfortunately for him, everyone watching on TV could hear him. And Novak Djokovic definitely did. The clip made rounds on social media, and the former World No.1 responded by skipping his usual on-court interview after beating Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round. He said he wouldn’t give any more interviews until both Jones and Channel Nine issued a public apology.

Jones later addressed the backlash while speaking on Channel Nine. He said, “If I could turn back time, right, and I know we’ve all got PhDs in hindsight, I think the one thing where I overstepped the mark, and this is certainly what’s really sort of angered Novak Djokovic and his camp, is the last comment I made in that back and forth with the crowd, ‘Kick him out.’”

He continued, “Now, I can stand here and put whatever spin on that, but it can only be interpreted as a throwback to the COVID years when he \[Djokovic] was kicked out \[over his vaccination status]. Now, that has angered Novak, which I completely understand now.”

That “kick him out” moment was especially sensitive because of what happened three years ago. Before this year’s Australian Open, Djokovic revealed he still had “trauma” from what transpired.

Novak Djokovic makes startling revelation about Australian Open trauma

Novak Djokovic, who was unvaccinated for Covid-19 at the time, had his visa canceled by the Australian government on “health and good order” grounds. He ended up being held at an immigration hotel for five days. His appeal didn’t work, and he was deported, missing the 2022 Australian Open.

Djokovic later spoke about the impact of that experience before the 2025 Australian Open. Talking to the ‘Herald Sun*, he revealed, “The last couple of times I landed in Australia, to go through passport control and immigration, I had a bit of trauma from three years ago. And some traces still stay there when I’m passing passport control, just checking out if someone from immigration zone is ­approaching. The person checking my passport – are they going to take me, detain me again or let me go? I must admit I have that feeling.”

He came back strong in 2023, with Covid-19 rules eased, and won the Australian Open for a record 10th time.

This year, the Serbian made it to the semifinals in Melbourne but had to retire against Alexander Zverev because of a muscle tear. He bounced back at Roland Garros and reached the final four, where he lost to current World No.1 Jannik Sinner.

Now, at 38, Djokovic looks fresh and focused as he gears up for Wimbledon. With history in his sights and no unwanted voices in his ear, Novak Djokovic is ready for another grass-court charge. Will Centre Court witness another iconic run from the Serbian superstar?