Novak Djokovic courts controversy at French Open with political message
Novak Djokovic has sparked a potential political row after writing the phrase “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” while also calling for peace after his 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(1) win against the American Aleksandar Kovacevic on Monday.
Djokovic used the customary postmatch camera signing to write the message: “Kosovo is [heart symbol] Serbia. Stop violence.” Later on Monday, Djokovic reposted a photo of his message on to his Instagram story.
Djokovic’s comments were in reference to recent unrest and violence in Kosovo after local elections in April. Serbs form the majority of the population in northern Kosovo and they still view Belgrade as their capital. After they refused to take part in local elections, groups of ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo clashed with Kosovo police and Nato-led peacekeepers.
After the 1998-99 war that led to the deaths of at least 10,000 people, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and it is recognised by more than 100 members of the UN, including the UK. But Serbia still considers Kosovo as part of its country and has refused to recognise Kosovo as an independent state.
In his post-match press conference with Serbian media, Djokovic said: “I am not a politician and I don’t have the intention to get into political debate. That topic is very sensitive. As a Serb, everything that’s happening in Kosovo hurts me a lot.
“This is the least I could have done. I feel the responsibility as a public figure – doesn’t matter in which field – to give support. Especially as a son of a man born in Kosovo, I feel the need to give my support to them and to Serbia. I don’t know what the future brings for Serbian people and for Kosovo, but it’s necessary to show support and demonstrate unity in these kinds of situations.”
Djokovic said he had not been approached by the tournament organisers after writing the message. “I don’t know what’s going to happen – I heard that there have been many objections on social media – whether I will be punished … I am not holding back, I would do it again.
“My stance is clear: I am against wars, violence and any kind of conflict, as I’ve always stated publicly. I empathise with all people, but the situation with Kosovo is a precedent in international law … I am very sorry for the situation that we are in – Kosovo is our hearthstone, our stronghold, our most important monasteries are there.”
Cameron Norrie, meanwhile, has expressed frustration at being penalised for a hindrance during his gritty fiveset win against Benoît Paire on Monday, describing the umpire’s intervention as “unacceptable”. After an intense battle with the crowd, opponent and himself, he recovered from two sets to one down to reach the second round with a 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
At 1-1, 30-30 in the second set on Norrie’s serve, the 27-year-old unloaded on an inside-out forehand that elicited an error from Paire. But the umpire, Nico Helwerth, called a hindrance on Norrie because of a noise he made after striking his final forehand, rewarding the point to his French opponent.
Helwerth told Norrie he thought the Briton had shouted out “yeah” during the point, which Norrie contended was merely a grunt. On the next point, Paire crushed a backhand winner to break serve for the first time.
“For him to get involved in that was, for me, doesn’t make any sense,” Norrie said. “What are we doing here? I’m here playing tennis, competing as hard as I can, and to do that, a pretty big point. Maybe if I spoke to him now he thinks he’s wrong, but I’m fighting my ass off and one call like that could influence the match. I got away with it today and I was able to come through in five sets. But ultimately it was a big call in the end and it changed the momentum of the match.”
Norrie, who also called the umpire’s intervention absurd, expressed frustration about the differing consequences for umpires and players when they make mistakes. He also brought up a questionable call during Dan Evans’s first-round defeat on Sunday. Evans was called for a foot fault for his back foot crossing the centre line, which he argued against.
“We’re all competing as hard as we can and I did my best to try to not let it bother me. I’ve never been called for that before. It’s obviously unacceptable but if he makes a decision wrong there’s no consequences. If I do something wrong, there’s consequences; I can lose the match.”
It was a contentious point in an otherwise a gripping match played out in a brilliant atmosphere, with the crowd constantly chanting “Allez Benoit” and spontaneously breaking out into La Marseillaise. After spending much of his time between 2020 and 2022 unable to find sufficient motivation on the court, Paire has found some form on the ATP Challenger tour. He led by two sets to one and then by a break in the fifth set, but Norrie recovered to reach the second round.
Jack Draper was forced to retire early in his first-round match with a shoulder injury, the latest in a series of setbacks that have kept the best British men’s talent from the court. Draper has been injured in his past three grand slam tournaments, retiring from two of them.
“I hate being the guy who is injured a lot,” he said. “It’s difficult. Mentally, it’s extremely tough, tougher than playing and losing almost. Because you’re just coming back fighting from injuries. I put in a lot of work. I had a good week last week and I’m coming here feeling optimistic but it’s not meant to be. I feel a bit mentally destroyed.”
There is little doubt about Draper’s potential, but he simply has not been able to compete regularly. After sustaining an injury during his Australian Open first-round match against Rafael Nadal, he did not compete again until Indian Wells in March where he reached the fourth round before retiring with an abdominal injury. He then missed five weeks of the clay season with a hip injury.
“It is difficult to have trust in my body right now. Honestly. I’m 21, I just need a bit of confidence and a bit of a breakthrough with it,” he said. “I’m sure I will. My tennis is there, I want to be one of the best players in the world, it’s just my body that’s letting me down a little bit. But it will come.”