Novak Djokovic has launched an ardent defence of his dad Srdjan after he was captured posing for photographs with Vladimir Putin supporters, claiming his father didn’t know he was with such people and was “misused” by them.
After watching his son defeat Andrey Rublev in an Australian Open quarter-final on Wednesday night, Srdjan was pictured with spectators holding a Russian flag featuring Putin’s face.
Amid the uproar it sparked, Srdjan said in a statement released on Friday that he would not attend his son’s semi-final against Tommy Paul.
READ MORE: Djokovic overcomes explosion, advances to final
READ MORE: Djokovic, Tsitsipas vying to dethrone ‘dare-devil’ teen
READ MORE: ‘Completely unfair’: Tsitsipas breaches unpunished
Djokovic beat the American in straight sets in the semi-final on Friday night, before being asked in his press conference about the controversy surrounding his dad.
“It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened … has escalated to such a high level,” Djokovic said after setting up a decider against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“There was, I would say, a lot of conversations with tournament director, with media and everyone else.
“It has got to me, of course, as well. I was not aware of it ’til (Thursday night). Then, of course, I was not pleased to see that.
“My father, my whole family and myself have been through several wars during the ’90s. As my father put in a statement, we are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war. We know how devastating that is for the family, for people in any country that is going through the war. That’s the first thing I want to say.
“The second thing I want to say … my father, as he said in the statement, has been going after every single match to meet with my fans at the main square here in Australian Open to thank them for the support, to be with them, pay them respect and make photos.
“The photo that he made … he was passing through.
“I heard what he said in the video. He said, ‘Cheers’. Unfortunately, some of the media has interpreted that in a really wrong way.”
Former world No.1 Sam Smith joined a wave of critics, slamming the footage of Srdjan as “appalling” on Nine’s Today show.
Smith also raised the possibility of Srdjan being unaware of what the spectators were promoting, but she said he must be “switched on” as a member of Djokovic’s team.
‘I’m appalled’: Smith weighs in on Djokovic dad drama
“I’m sorry that that has escalated so much,” Djokovic added in his press conference.
“But I hope people understand there was absolutely no intention whatsoever to support any kind of war initiatives or anything like that.
“My father, as I said, was passing through. There was a lot of Serbian flags around. That’s what he thought. He thought he was making 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 let it be and we can focus on tennis.”
Watch the Australian Open live and free on the Nine Network: Channel 9, 9Gem and 9NOW.
The press conference diverted away from the topic of Djokovic’s dad, before returning to the matter when the final question was asked.
“Do you discuss with him how important it might be, given your platform, for him to be careful, because it might be a reflection of how he or you or your family feels about an issue like the Russian invasion?” a reporter asked.
Djokovic bristled.
“Now you’re basically asking me a question like he did it intentionally, like he’s not being careful about what he’s doing,” Djokovic said.
“It can happen. It can happen to many people what happened to him.
“He was passing through, made a photo, it has escalated. He was misused in this situation by this group of people. That’s what happened.
Djokovic confronts umpire over towel call
“I can’t be angry with him or upset because I can say it was not his fault. He went to celebrate with my fans and that’s it. That’s all that happened.
“After that, of course he felt bad because of me, and he knew how that’s going to reflect on me. The whole media pressure and everything that has happened in the last 24 hours, 48 hours…
“But it is what it is. You accept it and you move on.”
Whether Srdjan returns to the stands for his son’s clash with Tsitsipas in the final remains a mystery.
“Let’s see,” Djokovic said.
“Of course, it wasn’t, again, pleasant not to have him in the box. It’s a decision that we made together. Just didn’t know how things will play out, I guess.
“I hope to have him. I hope he’s going to be feeling OK to be in the courts because I would like to have him there for the finals.”
Djokovic is aiming to join Rafael Nadal on a record 22 grand slam titles.
The Serbian superstar has a 10-2 head-to-head edge over Tsitsipas, who he trumped in five sets in the 2021 Roland-Garros decider.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Discussion about this post