Djokovic took some time to address the controversy surrounding his father, who was pictured on Wednesday posing with supporters holding Russian flags.
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On Friday, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic advanced in the Australian Open by defeating American Tommy Paul in straight sets. However, with a record 10 titles on the line, Djokovic took some time to address the controversy surrounding his father, who was pictured on Wednesday posing with supporters holding Russian flags. After winning the semifinal match 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, Djokovic addressed the situation with the media, calling it a misinterpretation of what actually transpired. “It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened yesterday has escalated to such a high level,” he explained.
“I was not aware of it until last night. And, of course, I was not pleased to see that. My father, my whole family, and myself have been through several wars during the ’90s so as my father put in the statement – we’re against the war. We will never support any violence or any war, we know how devastating that is for the family – the people in any country that is going through the war,” the former world no. 1 added.
Social media users posted images and videos of Srdjan Djokovic outside the main stadium waving Russian flags after Djokovic defeated Russian player Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. At least one of the flags featured a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pro-Russian “Z” was visible on at least one man’s shirt.
Srdjan Djokovic consequently issued a statement announcing that he would be skipping his son’s semifinal match “so there is no disruption.” Djokovic explained that his father wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around him; he was just posing with Serbian fans as he always does.
“My father, as he said in the statement, has been going after every single match to meet with my fans at the main square here at the Australian Open to thank them for the support and to be with them, pay them respect, and [take] photos,” he said. “And the photo that he [took], he was passing through. I heard what he said in the video – he said ‘cheers’ and unfortunately some of the media has interpreted that in a really wrong way. So, I’m sorry that that has escalated so much, but I hope that people understand that there was absolutely no intention whatsoever to support any kind of war initiatives or anything like that.”
between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. One more victory would put Djokovic on par with Rafael Nadal’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam triumphs. The Serb has recently displayed top-tier tennis, winning titles at the Tel Aviv Open, Astana Open, ATP Finals in Turin, and Adelaide International 1 while accruing 30 victories from 32 matches.
He successfully defeated Roberto Carballes Baena to kick off his return to the Australian Open, and he went on to show off his unstoppable form in the following rounds. In order to reach his 10th Major final in Melbourne, the former World No. 1 beat players like Enzo Couacaud, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex De Minaur, Andre Rublev, and Tommy Paul. In the final four games, he defeated the American Paul in three straight sets (7-5, 6-1, 6-2).
On the other hand, Stefanos Tsitsipas has also had a strong start to the new 2023 season. The Greek entered the Australian Open after reaching the semifinals of the Rolex Paris Masters and the 2023 United Cup. He has gone unbeaten in his last 11 games. In the first three rounds, he easily defeated his opponents in straight sets. Later, he showed his toughness by defeating players like Jannik Sinner, Jiri Lehecka, and Karen Khachanov to advance to the championship match. To advance to his first-ever final in Melbourne, the third seed defeated the Russian Khachanov in four sets, winning 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-7 (6), and 6-3.
