The father of the 9-time Australian Open champion Srdjan Djokovic was not present at his son’s semi-final match.
So, the fact is that Srdjan Djokovic was spotted with supporters of Russia and Vladimir Putin in Melbourne Park.
The pro-Russian group engages in political agitation in the stadium space: they move with Russian flags and pictures of Putin.
Srdjan Djokovic was right next to them. In the pictures, he openly poses with an agitator wearing a “Z” T-shirt and waving a Russian flag with Putin’s image on it.
The whole family of Novak Djokovic is present at the current Australian Open. They attend every match. The exception was the semi-final. His father missed it.
However, Srdjan Djokovic justified this fact by saying that he does not want to be mentioned in the media in any context other than tennis:
“I am here only as a fan of my son. I was just celebrating Novak’s victory with the fans outside the stadium and taking photos with them. I didn’t want to be a part of that.”
– Srdjan Djokovic.
Also, fans are criticizing the tournament organizers for not being able to control pro-Russian activists.
Activists constantly move around with Russian flags, sing about Putin and spread pro-Russian sentiment among the fans.
So, Tennis Australia responded to this story with an official statement. According to them, work continues to ensure that similar cases do not take place on the territory of the stadium:
“For the safety of the fans, we continue to monitor the prohibition of the flags of Russia and Belarus. We have also asked all tennis players and their team members not to engage in any activism that may cause reputational damage or incite conflict. Tennis Australia supports peace and an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine.”
– Tennis Australia.
At the start of the year, Novak received a huge welcome in Adelaide from Australian fans. He started the year by winning 250-title.
