Novak Djokovic advances Australian Open After defeating American Tommy Paul in straight sets on Friday but with a record 10 titles on the line for the Serbian tennis pro, Djokovic took time to address the controversy surrounding his father, who broke into a row with fans holding Russian flags on Wednesday. were seen.
Djokovic spoke to the media about the matter after his 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 semi-final victory, called it a “misrepresentation” of what actually happened.
Novak Djokovic celebrates victory after winning his semi-final match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Melbourne Park on January 27, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Stringer / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“It was unfortunate that misrepresentation of what happened yesterday has risen to such a high level,” he explained.
Novak Djokovic’s father poses for a photo with pro-Russia supporters at the Australian Open
“I didn’t know about it until last night. And of course, I wasn’t happy to see it. My father, my whole family and I went through many battles during the 90s, so as my father said in a statement We are against war. We will never support any violence or any war, we know how devastating it is for families – people from any country going through war.”
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, left, attends the 2017/2018 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season Round 7 game between Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and CSKA Moscow with his father Serjan Djokovic at Kombank Arena on November 15, 2017 in Belgrade, Serbia .
(Marko Metalas/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images)
In pictures and videos going viral on social media, Sean Djokovic is seen standing and shaking hands with a group of people russian flags – At least one image showing Russian player Vladimir Putin – outside the main stadium after Djokovic’s quarter-final win over Russian player Andrey Rublev.
At least one man was seen wearing a pro-Russia “Z” on his shirt.
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As a result, Serjan Djokovic issued a statement saying that he would sit out his son’s semifinal match “so there is no disruption.”
Djokovic explained that his father was posing with the Serbian fans as usual, not aware of what was happening around him.
“My father, as he said in the statement, used to meet my fans on the Main Square at the Australian Open after every single match to thank them for their support and to be with them, to honor them, and [take] pictures,” he said.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia holds a press conference following his victory against Tommy Paul of America following their men’s singles semifinal match on day 12 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 27, 2023.
(William West/AFP via Getty Images)
“And the photo that he [took], He was passing by. I heard what he said in the video – he said ‘cheers’ and unfortunately some of the media interpreted that in a very wrong way. So, I’m sorry that this escalated so much, but I hope people understand that there was absolutely no intention to endorse any kind of war initiative or anything like that.”
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Djokovic said he would like his father to be present for his final match Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday but has not yet made a decision with his father.
“Of course it’s not pleasant for me to go through all the things I had to deal with in Australia last year and this year. It’s not something I wanted or needed, and I hope people will let it happen, and we Can focus on tennis.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.