Australian Open
Djokovic father regrets incident with Russia fans and stays away from semifinals
Novak Djokovic’s parents: Srdjan and Dijana Djokovic
© David Gray / AFP
After the incident with pro-Russian spectators at the Australian Open, tennis star Novak Djokovic’s father spoke up. He regrets the negative headlines and draws consequences.
Novak Djokovic’s father has expressed his regret over the incident involving a pro-Russian crowd during the Australian Open and decided against attending his son’s semi-final match.
“I’m here to support my son. I had no intention of causing such headlines or disruption,” said Srdjan Djokovic, according to a statement for media outlets including Australian newspaper The Age.
“So that tonight’s semi-final is not disturbed for my son or the other player, I decided to watch it at home,” said the father of the Serbian tennis star, who played in the duel against the American Tommy Paul (9.30 a.m.CET/ Eurosport) wants to make the final perfect.
Video causes a stir at Australian Open
The day before, a video of Srdjan Djokovic posing with others behind a Russian flag with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Melbourne Park caused a stir on the internet. Next to him is a man wearing a T-shirt with the “Z” sign on it, which is considered a symbol of support for Russia, including the invasion of Ukraine. The video was published on a YouTube channel and is said to have been taken after Djokovic’s quarter-final win over Russia’s Andrei Rublev on Wednesday.
“I had no intention of getting involved in this,” Srdjan Djokovic said of the incident. He just wanted to celebrate with the fans and take pictures. He emphasized that he would “only wish for peace” since his family had also experienced “the horrors of war”.
After the incident, the organizers of the Australian Open had again pointed out to the players and their teams that certain flags and symbols were banned. But there were also voices calling for a tournament ban for Srdjan Djokovic.