MELBOURNE: Tennis star Novak Djokovic’s father said he would stay away from his son’s Australian Open semi-final on Friday, insisting he “just wanted peace” after he was filmed with fans holding Russian flags. keep”.
“I’m just here to support my son. I had no intention of causing such headlines or disruption,” Sardjan Djokovic said in a statement after the images prompted calls for him to be banned from the tournament. has been.
“My family has gone through the horrors of war and we only want peace,” he said.
Serijan Djokovic has made no mention of whether he will participate in Sunday’s Grand Slam final if his son wins Friday’s match.
A video posted on Thursday on a pro-Russian Australian YouTube account showed Djokovic’s father posing with a man holding a Russian flag with Vladimir Putin’s face on it.
The video was titled: “Novak Djokovic’s father makes bold political statement.”
AFP photographed another man inside the stadium during Djokovic’s match with a pro-Russian “Z” on his T-shirt.
Serijan Djokovic said he was out with his son’s fans “as I do after all my son’s matches to celebrate his wins and take pictures with them”.
“I had no intention of getting caught up in it.”
‘Avoid disruption’
The tennis great’s father said he had decided to watch on television to avoid “disruption” for his son or his semi-final opponent American Tommy Paul.
“I wish for a great match and I will cheer for my son like always,” he said.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, called on Sredjan Djokovic to withdraw his sanction.
In an interview with AFP, Miroshnichenko also called on Djokovic to personally apologize and clarify his position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
They demanded that he apologize for what happened and condemn the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who lost in the women’s doubles semi-final, said the behavior was hurtful but was reluctant to comment on whether Djokovic’s father should be banned.
“No matter what I say, I’m going to be hated for the rest of my life, especially by very aggressive Novak fans,” he told reporters.
Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia last year for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 – a controversy that overshadowed the start of the tournament.
‘Absolutely disgusting’
Myroshnychenko said the player’s reaction to the latest controversy will again distract from what’s happening on the court.
“The last Open was all about Djokovic,” he said. “Now it’s all about the Russian flags and Djokovic too.”
Former Ukrainian player Alex Dolgopolov said on Twitter that his open support for what he described as a “genocidal regime” was “absolutely disgusting”.
Myroshnychenko was instrumental in persuading Australian Open organizers to ban the Russian and Belarusian flags at that year’s Grand Slam.
The Russian Embassy in Australia reacted to the ban, calling it “another example of the unacceptable politicization of sports”.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albany said he “doesn’t want to see support for a Russian attack on Ukraine”.
Tournament organizer Tennis Australia said on Thursday it would continue to work with security to enforce entry rules.
“Following the events of Wednesday night, we worked swiftly with the police and our security teams to remove the instigators from the venue,” it said in a statement.
“Throughout the event we have spoken to the players and their teams about the importance of not engaging in any activity that causes anxiety or disruption.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Russian and Belarusian players usually compete independently under a neutral white flag, as in the Australian Open.
