Djokovic defends father over Putin picture row
Novak bizarrely claims his dad didn’t know who he was with
ALL in an evening’s work for Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open: moving into the final and then insisting his father’s associations with Russian sympathisers at Melbourne Park had been misinterpreted.
The Serb will seek a 10th title tomorrow — which would draw him level with Rafael Nadal again on 22 Grand Slam singles titles — and not even the distraction of a family member posing in front of a Russian flag with Vladimir Putin’s face on it, next to a man wearing a T-shirt with the pro-war ‘Z’ symbol, has been enough to derail him.
Djokovic outclassed American Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 to set up a meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas, with his father, Srdjan, staying away from the stadium to reduce attention following his appearance in a pro-Russian YouTube video.
The 35-year-old, who would regain the world No 1 spot by taking the title, described his father as having been ‘misused’ by people expressing support for Russia outside Rod Laver Arena.
‘It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened has escalated to such a high level,’ he said. ‘It has got to me, of course, as well. I was not aware of it until last night. Then I was not pleased to see that.
‘My whole family and myself have been through several wars during the 1990s. As my father put in a statement, we are against the war. We know how devastating it is for people in any country going through war. My father has been going after every match to meet with my fans, to thank them for the support, and make photos. The photo he made, he was passing through. There were a lot of Serbian flags around. He thought he was making a photo with somebody from Serbia. He was misused in this situation by this group of people.’
What was said on the video is disputed, but the player insisted: ‘He said: “Cheers”. Unfortunately some of the media interpreted that in a really wrong way.’
Djokovic added: ‘It’s not pleasant to go through this with what I had to deal with last year and this year in Australia.’
It is a considerable stretch to claim Srdjan could not have been aware of the sort of people with which he was consorting. Especially with the kind of things being chanted and the T-shirt being worn. It was unobservant, to say the least.
‘I am here to support my son only. I had no intention of causing such disruption,’ he had stated in an earlier release, announcing his decision to stay away from yesterday’s semi-final. He made a similar point about having lived through wars. It was strange it took so long for the family to come up with any response.
Djokovic had been way too good for world No35 Paul, though he did betray signs of agitation when he let a 5-1 lead slip in the first set after getting involved in a row about when the shot clock should start between points.
The way the crowd were rooting for a relatively obscure American suggested Wednesday’s episode had dented Djokovic’s standing. When he clinched the first set and cocked his ear to the crowd, boos rang out around the arena.
Tsitsipas, like Djokovic, stands to be No1 tomorrow if he wins, and should prove a completely different proposition. He reached the Melbourne final by beating Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. There may be some relief within the confines of the tournament that the popular Greek is through, rather than a player from Russia. Men’s final 8.30am tomorrow
LIVE on Eurosport 1.