Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan opts not to attend his son's Australian Open semifinal amid Russian flag controversy
Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan has stated that he will not attend his son's Australian Open semifinal so as to not cause any disruptions.
While Djokovic mesmerized the crowd with his sensational performance against Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, his father was involved in a controversial moment off the court. Srdjan was seen posing for pictures with Russian fans who were holding pro-Vladimir Putin flags and singing praises of the country's President.
The 62-year-old received a lot of criticism from tennis fans and finally broke his silence in a statement where he claimed that he only wished for peace as his family lived through the horrors of war. Srdjan claimed that he wouldn't attend his son Novak Djokovic's Australian Open semifinal so as to not cause any sort of disruption.
"My family has lived through the horror of war, and we wish only for peace," Srdjan said.
"So there is no disruption to tonight's semi-final for my son or for the other player, I have chosen to watch from home. I wish for a great match and I will be cheering for my son, as always," he added.
Ukrainian players criticize Novak Djokovic's father for his actions
There were a few Ukrainian players who took offense to Djokovic's father posing for pictures with fans who praised Vladimir Putin, with one of them donning a t-shirt that displayed the infamous 'Z' symbol, a popular pro-war motif against Ukraine.
Alexander Dolgopolov expressed his disgust on the incident on Twitter, claiming that people who openly praised a genocidal regime had no business being in tennis tournaments.
"Absolutely disgusting. Politics should be kept out of sports they said. These people have absolutely no business in being on tennis tournaments, including @DjokerNole father, if they openly praise a genocidal regime," Dolgopolov tweeted.
Another Ukrainian player, Marta Kostyuk, was surprised with Djokovic's father posing for pictures with the Russian fans.
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 twitter.com/jamesgraysport…
After defeating Andrey Rublev, Novak Djokovic will face Tommy Paul in the Australian Open semifinals. The American reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal by beating compatriot Ben Shelton 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Djokovic and Paul will lock horns for the very first time when they meet in Melbourne Park and the winner of the match will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final.
Tsitsipas booked his place in his second Grand Slam final by defeating 18th seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3.