While Novak Djokovic has already secured his place in the final of the Australian Open, where he has won all the definitions he has played and will seek his tenth trophy, his father Srdjan has led a controversy when images of him are seen in a march in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This also led to his absence in the semifinal match that saw Nole win over American Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.
Srdjan Djokovic, father of the player who has 21 Grand Slam titles – nine from the Australian Open, seven from Wimbledon, three from the US Open and two from Roland Garros – and aims to match Rafael Nadal if he wins this Sunday, decided not to attend the semifinal of the Australian Open, which helped tournament organizers avoid the awkward decision of having to veto it.
“I am here only to support my son. I had no intention of causing such headlines or interruptions, ”said the father of the former world number 1 in a statement released by his son’s communication team.
Srdjan had appeared dressed in an official tournament jersey to a crowd of fans holding banned Russian flags after Nole defeated Andrey Rublev to reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne. Spectators carried Russian flags and chanted for Putin, which has been banned since the invasion of Ukraine that has lasted for almost a year.
According to his statement, Srdjan Djokovic had no intention of being trapped in this situation and missed seeing his son in the semis against Tommy Paul, a 25-year-old American tennis player who ranks 35th in the ATP ranking and has just climbed up to his best position (28) just a few weeks ago.
“I was outside with the Novak fans, like I have been after all my son’s games to celebrate their wins and take pictures with them. He had no intention of getting caught up in this. My family has lived through the horror of war and we only want peace. So there’s no interruption in tonight’s semi-final for my son, or for the other player I’ve chosen to watch from home. I wish a great game and I will be cheering for my son, as always”, added Srdjan.
Russian fans who attended the 35-year-old Serbian player’s victory over Rublev were detained by police and four men were expelled after allegedly threatening tournament security, The Age newspaper reported. Tennis Australia announced that it worked closely with officers and security teams to evict the instigators of the protest.
