‘No intention of being caught up in this’: Djokovic’s father steers clear of semi-final

Srdjan Djokovic, the father of tennis champion Novak Djokovic, decided not to attend his son’s Friday night Australian Open semi-final, helping tournament organisers to avoid the awkward decision on whether to ban him from the event.

The tournament has been dogged by controversy since Srdjan Djokovic, wearing an official Australian Open tracksuit top, was filmed appearing to say “long live the Russians” in Serbian alongside fans who were brandishing banned Russian flags on Wednesday night.

A screenshot from the video in which Srdjan Djokovic appears to say “long live the Russians” in Serbian.

In a video published on YouTube after nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic defeated Russian Andrey Rublev to reach the final four in Melbourne, Srdjan Djokovic appears alongside spectators who are carrying Russian flags and chanting messages of support for Vladimir Putin.

Russian flags and other items bearing Russian or Belarusian insignia are banned at Melbourne Park following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The invasion has gone on for almost 12 months and thousands of civilians have been killed, according to the United Nations.

However, Srdjan Djokovic said he had no intention of being caught up in the situation and missed seeing his son with his clash against Tommy Paul, allowing the Serbian to compete in his 10th Australian Open final.

“I am here to support my son only. I had no intention of causing such headlines or disruption,” he said in a statement released by his son’s management team.

“I was outside with Novak’s fans, as I have done after all of my son’s matches to celebrate his wins and take pictures with them. I had no intention of being caught up in this.

“My family has lived through the horror of war, and we wish only for peace.”

“So there is no disruption to tonight’s semi-final for my son, or for the other player, I have chosen to watch from home,” Srdjan Djokovic said.

“I wish for a great match and I will be cheering for my son, as always.”

In the statement, Srdjan Djokovic did not deny making comments relating to Russia. It also said Novak Djokovic would not be commenting on the situation.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have had the comments from the video, which was published to YouTube, translated to English.

However, Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo wrote on Twitter that he had seen “a lot of incorrect translations ... what Srdjan Djokovic said is ‘ziveli, ljudi’, which in this context translates to ‘cheers, guys’ and means ‘goodbye’ at the same time”.

But Slavic languages expert Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover, who analysed the audio, said she was fairly confident Djokovic said ziveli rusi, which translates to “long live the Russians”. In Serbian, the word ziveli can mean both “cheers” and something akin to “hail” or “long live”.

“I can hear him lower his voice like at the end of a sentence and what he seems to be saying at the end is rusi ... I can’t hear the word ljudi,” she said.

Russian fans attending the Serbian’s straight sets win over Rublev on Wednesday night were detained by police and four men were evicted after allegedly threatening security.

In a statement released after Srdjan Djokovic said he wouldn’t attend Friday night’s match, Tennis Australia said it worked closely with police and security teams to have the instigators of the protest evicted.

“Throughout the event we’ve spoken with players and their teams about the importance of not engaging in any activity that causes distress or disruption,” it said in a statement on Friday.

“We will continue to strive for the safety of fans at the event and reiterate our position banning flags from Belarus and Russia.

“Tennis Australia stands with the call for peace and an end to war and violent conflict in Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian ambassador had earlier on Friday called on the Open to ban Srdjan Djokovic from attending the men’s singles finals.

Srdjan Djokovic, the father of Novak Djokovic.Credit: AP

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not respond directly on Friday to a question​​ about whether Srdjan Djokovic should be deported​.

“I will make this point, that Australia stands with the people of Ukraine,” Albanese told a news conference. “That is Australia’s position and Australia is unequivocal in our support for the rule of international law.

“We do not want to see any support given to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that is having a devastating impact on the people of Ukraine.”

Former Australian Open tournament director Paul McNamee, who was in charge between 1995 and 2006, backed how the current administration under Craig Tiley had handled the situation.

“Saying to all players and people with accreditation to be careful because there are groups that want to politicise [was the right call],” McNamee told The Age.

“But in the case of Novak’s father; it is unclear what was said. The other thing is, how would he know all the flags that are there, at the time, post-match, in a euphoric crowd, that are happy that Novak won?

“I mean, is he responsible for what happens behind him in the photo? You’ve got to be careful, but he’s just posing with fans after the match. It’s not his job to police the flags.”

McNamee said his priority as tournament boss in these types of scenarios was to avoid or limit disruptions to matches.

He said Novak Djokovic “in general, faces a tough narrative”.

“That’s been proven on numerous occasions, and there are reasons for that, but some of it is unfair,” he said.

“I think in relation to his family, he can’t be responsible for his father.”

Earlier on Friday, the state opposition demanded the Andrews government and event organisers explain what action they would take.

“It isn’t good enough for the state government to avoid responsibility and buck pass to others,” opposition sports spokesman Sam Groth said.

State Minister for Sport Steve Dimopoulos said Australian Open operations are a matter for Tennis Australia.

“The Russian Government’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war against Ukraine, enabled by the Belarusian Government, is abhorrent and a flagrant breach of its international obligations,” he said in a statement late Friday.

“We support Tennis Australia’s decision to ban their flags, underscoring that respect for human rights and peaceful relations between nations form the foundation of international sport.”

With Reuters

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