"Would be nice if that's true" - Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov on Novak Djokovic's explanation of his father's controversial Australian Open gesture
Novak Djokovic came out with an explanation for his father Srdjan's controversial Australian Open gesture on Friday, stating that the media had misinterpreted his actions. Reflecting on the Serb's statement, former Ukrainian player Alexandr Dolgopolov stated that it "would be nice if it was true."
Djokovic's father was accused of expressing pro-Russian sentiments with a group of Russian supporters after the Serb's quarter-final match against Andrey Rublev at the Rod Laver Arena.
Amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Tennis Australia has banned Russian flags and pro-war symbols from all stadiums. However, Djokovic's father Srdjan was spotted posing for pictures with several fans holding pro-Vladimir Putin flags.
In light of the incident, the former World No. 1 conveyed that his father had misconstrued the Russian supporters for Serbians.
"He [Srdjan] was misused in this situation by this group of people. I can't be angry with him or upset because I can say it was not his fault. He went out to celebrate with my fans, and that's it. There was a lot of Serbian flags around. He thought he was making photo with somebody from Serbia," Djokovic asserted during a press-conference on Friday.
Reacting to the statement, Dolgopolov expressed hope that Djokovic was telling the truth and that his father's intentions were genuine. He also urged the fans to stop wearing t-shirts displaying the “Z” symbol, Putin's face and Russian flags to their matches as they were the "purest war support signs."
"Would be nice if that’s true. Also would be logic to ask their fans publicly to stop wearing Z letter, putins face and russian flags to their matches if that’s true, because that’s the purest war support signs but we are not hearing those words, unfortunately," he wrote in his tweet.
Would be nice if that’s true. Also would be logic to ask their fans publicly to stop wearing Z letter, putins face and russian flags to their matches if that’s true, because that’s the purest war support signs but we are not hearing those words, unfortunately. twitter.com/christophclare…
Strict action was taken against Russian fans who displayed war support signs after the quarterfinals on Wednesday; some of them were even detained by local police.
Novak Djokovic hopes to have his father in the stands for his Australian Open final
Novak Djokovic hopes that his father Srdjan will be in attendance for his final at the 2023 Australian Open despite being engulfed in controversy. Owing to the dispute surrounding him, Srdjan refused to be present in the stadium for the Serb's semi-final match against Tommy Paul.
However, the nine-time Australian Open champion wishes that his father would feel alright before Sunday and be on the court to witness his son try to win his 10th Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena.
"Let's see. Of course, it wasn't, again, pleasant not to have him in the box. It's a decision that we made together," Djokovic said. "Just didn't know how things will play out, I guess. I hope to have him. I hope he's going to be feeling okay to be on the courts because I would like to have him there for the finals," expressed the Serb.
The World No. 5 will lock horns with World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final on Sunday.