Novak Djokovic' lack of condemnation for war after father's Russia controversy earns Ukraine Ambassador's scorn
Novak Djokovic finds himself in the thick of controversy due to his father Srdjan's actions even as he looks to win his 10th Australian Open title on Sunday (January 29).
Following Djokovic's win over Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Srdjan was pictured with a man wearing a T-shirt that had the pro-war 'Z' symbol and holding a flag with Russian President Vladimir Putin's face. Srdjan was also allegedly heard saying "Long live the Russians" in Serbian before he walked away.
That has earned Djokovic criticism from Ukraine's ambassador in Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, who deemed Srdjan's actions as supporting Russia's Ukraine invasion. Djokovic tried to explain his father's stance, saying that Srdjan's actions were misinterpreted, but Myroschnychenko would have none of it.
“We clearly see we have the footage. We clearly see what he (Srdjan) said, and it's out there in the public domain. I don't think there is any benefit of a doubt in this particular situation because he saw the flags, he saw the symbols,” the ambassador told the Today Show on Saturday.
He continued, wondering why the Serb did not follow up his words with a public condemnation of Russia for waging war on his country.
“Look, I don't take it. I understand that that's unfortunately what happened. No condemnation the war has come from the father nor from Novak Djokovic.”
Myroschnychenko has urged the Australian Open to ban Srdjan from attending any matches at the tournament.
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Srdjan was not present in his son's semifinal win over Tommy Paul on Friday, but it's unclear whether he'll continue to remain out of the picture in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.
What has Novak Djokovic said about his father Srdjan's actions?
Novak Djokovic is eyeing a slice of tennis history on Sunday, as victory would take him level with Rafael Nadal (22) atop the all-time Grand Slam leaderboard.
Meanwhile, the build-up to the match has been dominated by Srdjan's actions, with Djokovic defending his father by insisting that he was simply ignorant and miscontrued on the night of his alleged pro-Russia behavior.
"There was a lot of Serbian flags around. That's what he thought. He thought he was making a photo with somebody from Serbia. That's it. He moved on. Of course, it's not pleasant for me to go through this with all the things that I had to deal with last year and this year in Australia. It's not something that I want or need. I hope that people will let it be, and we can focus on tennis."
Novak Djokovic stands on the brink of a record-extending 10th #AusOpen title 🏆
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The Serb missed the 2022 edition, as he was deported following his COVID-19 exemption controversy. A year later, Novak Djokovic is one win away from a record-extending tenth Australian Open title.