Novak Djokovic insisted that his father Srdjan never intended to pose with pro-Russian supporters and that the entire Djokovic family is against wars. After Djokovic defeated Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open quarterfinal, his father Srdjan was filmed alongside pro-Russia and pro-Puttin supporters.
That scene quickly went viral and as a result Djokivic’s father wasn’t in the stands during the Serb’s straight-set win over Tommy Paul in the Australian Open semifinal. “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 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 is 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 take 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 have interpreted that in a really wrong way. I’m sorry that that has escalated so much,” Djokovic said, per India Today.
Djokovic hopes to have his father in the stands in the AO final
On Friday, Djokovic got the job done in straight sets to reach the Australian Open final.
On Sunday, Djokovic will be facing Stefanos Tsitsipas. For Sunday, Djokovic hopes to have his father back in the stands. “It wasn’t pleasant not to have him. I hope to have him,” Djokovic said. When Djokovic and Tsitsipas meet, the Serb will be targeting his 22nd Grand Slam while the Greek will be hoping to win his first Major title.
