Novak Djokovic (36, Serbia, world No. 5), who is trying to win the Australian Open for the 10th time, explained the controversy about his father.
Djokovic defeated Tommy Paul (25, USA, world ranking 35th) 3-0 (7-5 6-1 6-2) in the men’s singles semifinal of the 2023 Australian Open tennis tournament held at Melbourne Park Road Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on the 27th. ) won.
After the game, he told CNN and other media, “As my father made a statement, we oppose and absolutely do not support any war and violence.”
The controversy began with a video taken outside the stadium after Djokovic’s father, Srdan Djokovic, watched his son’s quarterfinal match. On a pro-Russian YouTube channel, Srdan was captured posing with a man holding a Russian flag featuring the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian flag was banned inside the Australian Open. In this situation, Srdan caused controversy by appearing in a video of Russians who seemed to support the invasion of Ukraine.
In particular, a man who posed with Srdan was wearing a T-shirt with a ‘Z’ emblazoned on it, symbolizing the invasion of Ukraine. 토토사이트
Following the release of the video, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia demanded that Srdan be disqualified from participating in the tournament and banned from entering the stadium.
In response, Srdan released a statement on the 27th. “I’m just here to support my son. I didn’t mean to cause any confusion,” he explained. He added, “I was outside the pitch to celebrate (my son’s) victory with the fans.”
Djokovic grew up in Belgrade, Serbia. He raised his voice, arguing that his family had been through the war in Kosovo and had no intention of supporting the war.
“My father and my family both went through several wars in the ’90s,” Djokovic said. “We know how devastating it is for people in all countries experiencing war. It’s very sad that misunderstandings have grown.”
Meanwhile, Srdan did not watch Djokovic’s semifinal match held on the 27th at the stadium.
Djokovic will play the men’s singles final against Stephanos Tsitsipas (25, Greece, world No. 4) on the 29th.