Tennis legends Boris Becker and Chris Evert have backed up criticism levelled by Ben Shelton against some of the interviews being conducted after matches at the Australian Open. Shelton launched an extraordinary broadside at Australian Open and Channel 9 officials during his press conference after beating Lorenzo Sonego on Wednesday to make the semi-finals.

After all the questions wrapped up, Shelton asked if he could say a few extra words. He said: “I’ve been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcasters. I’ve noticed it with different people, not just myself. I noticed it with Learner Tien in one of his matches…when he beat (Daniil) Medvedev…his post-match interview, I thought it was kind of embarrassing and disrespectful.”

Shelton said Tony Jones’ mockery of Djokovic and Serbian fans wasn’t just a “single event”, and declared one question asked of him during his on-court interview on Wednesday as “disrespectful”. Shelton was asked by James Sherry: “You’re going to be playing the winner of Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur. The crowd are going to be on the other guy’s side aren’t they?”

Shelton took it in his stride and said: “You guys can boo me, you can throw stuff in my head, I understand.” But in his official press conference he said: “There are some comments that have been made to me in post-match interviews by a couple of different guys, whether it was, ‘Hey, (Gael) Monfils is old enough to be your dad. Maybe he is your dad’.

“Or today on the court, ‘Hey, Ben, how does it feel that no matter who you play in your next match, no one is going to be cheering for you’? “I mean, may be true, but I just don’t think the comment is respectful from a guy I’ve never met before in my life.

“I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments. I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity. I think that’s something that needs to change.”

Interviews that Ben Shelton has taken exception to

The general consensus about Sherry’s question was it was poorly worded, and he should have added something about how a player prepares when they know they’ll be taking on a home player and vocal crowd as well. As for the question about Monfils and his dad, Shelton’s claim that Roger Rasheed said ‘maybe he is your dad’ isn’t actually correct.

But Rasheed’s question was also poorly worded when he said “he could be your dad.” It wasn’t meant to be a question about Shelton’s parentage but simply a nod to the vast age-gap between Shelton (22) and Monfils (38).

The American’s reference to the Learner Tien interview comes after some awkward moments with John Fitzgerald. At one stage Fitzy told Tien “I know where you live” because the Aussie used to reside in Newport Beach where Tien currently does. And Fitzgerald also said “you don’t know how to answer that do you” despite the fact he never asked a question.

Boris Becker and Chris Evert add to criticism of interviews

Taking to social media on Wednesday night, German legend Becker took his own crack at the broadcasters. “Absolutely agree with Ben! Courtside interviews way too long after matches…and too personal as well!”

While Evert wrote: “I agree with Ben. Sometimes, on-court interviewers try to be funny or make it about themselves…. In saying that, Jim Courier is excellent in that role…” While Czech player Jiri Lehecka was also in agreeance.

There’s a general feeling that on-court interviews are meant to be a bit lighter and more quirky than the official press conferences, and we’ve seen Jelena Dokic dancing with Aryna Sabalenka and asking players about coffee. John McEnroe also copped backlash when he seemingly didn’t know enough about Jannik Sinner during an interview.

It might be time to get back to the real stuff and ask some more serious questions. As is the case every Australian Open, a number of the interviewers aren’t actually employed by Channel 9. Sherry, Rasheed and Fitzgerald are employed by Tennis Australia for the two-week tournament and have no relationship with Nine.

Tellingly, a poll conducted by Yahoo Sport Australia has revealed Dokic as the overwhelming fan-favourite amongst interviewers and commentators. In the poll of over 15,000 readers, Dokic is the runaway leader with 49 per cent of the vote, followed by Jim Courier (22 per cent) and John McEnroe (nine per cent).