Srdjan Djokovic has himself photographed at the Australian Open with a Russian flag, a portrait of Putin and the "Z" symbol - the outcry is great. After his semi-final victory, Novak Djokovic takes his father's protection. The photo is not his fault.
Novak Djokovic has defended his father after the incident with a pro-Russian crowd at the Australian Open. The situation escalated because of a "misinterpretation" and his father was "abused by people," said the tournament favorite at the press conference after reaching the final with a 7: 5, 6: 1, 6: 2 against the American Tommy Paul.
"I can't be angry or sad about that, because I can say that it wasn't his fault," added the 21-time Grand Slam tournament winner: "What happened to him can happen to many people. He's through the crowd went, took a picture, it escalated."
A video on the Internet after Djokovic's quarter-final victory against the Russian Andrei Rublev caused a stir. It showed the tennis star's father posing behind a Russian flag with a portrait of Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Melbourne Park. Next to him is a man wearing a T-shirt with the "Z" sign, used as a symbol of support for Russia, including the invasion of Ukraine.
Srdjan Djokovic regretted the uproar in a statement, saying he only wanted to take photos with his son's fans and had no intention of "getting involved in this". Novak Djokovic, who meets Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final, also made it clear: "We are against war. We will never support any violence or wars." His father, his family and himself "lived through several wars during the 1990s".
