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Djokovic’s father caused a storm.  He now drops out of the AO Semi-Finals

Djokovic’s father caused a storm. He now drops out of the AO Semi-Finals

The topic of the war in Ukraine and the armed aggression of Russia and Belarus came up very often during tennis tournaments, especially Grand Slam tournaments. The loudest during last year’s Wimbledon, whose organizers forbade competitors from aggressor countries to participate. In the Australian Open, these players perform, albeit without name flags. It is also forbidden to bring them by spectators. However, this is a theory, because in practice it can be different, and it was most visible on Wednesday after the quarterfinals of Serbian Novak Djokovic and Russian Andrij Rublev. The fiesta organized at that time by the supporters of Russia and Vladimir Putin in front of the central court did not go unnoticed.

Djokovic’s father at the center of the media storm

The fiesta itself is one thing. After some time, it turned out that Novak Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, posed for photos with the participants. According to some, he was also supposed to send a greeting referring to Russia towards them. Many people reacted with indignation, including

On Friday, we got the reaction of the titled tennis player’s father. He sent a statement to a group of Serbian journalists in which he announced that he would not appear in the stands during his son’s match tonight.

I’m only here to support my son. (…) I was outside with Novak’s fans, as I always do after all his matches, to celebrate his victories and take pictures together. I wasn’t going to get mixed up in something like this. My family has been through the horrors of war and we only dream of peace. (…) So, in order not to cause confusion for my son or his rival, I decided to watch the match from home – said Djokovic senior.

The Australian tennis federation also issued a statement on Friday. Its representatives assure that together with security and the police present in Melbourne Park, they took action on Wednesday to efficiently remove the protesters.

“We have also spoken with the players and their staff about the importance of not engaging in any activity that may cause distress or confusion,” they added in a statement.

Azarenka: These incidents have nothing to do with the players

When you enter the courts of Melbourne Park, you traditionally have to go through security checks every time. The bodyguards are equipped with cheat sheets, on which among the prohibited items there are e.g. Russian flags. In practice, however, sometimes there are oversights.

Some Australian Open participants are still being asked at press conferences about the war in Ukraine and its consequences. In recent days, Belarusians Aryna Sabalenka and Wiktoria Azarenka had to face such questions. The first was asked whether discussing the topic affected her.

– Yes of course. It was hard and still is. But I realized it wasn’t my fault. I have no control over it at all. If I could do something, I would, but I can’t. Understanding this helps me a lot to stay strong –

Azarenka reacted sharper when the case of Wednesday’s incident was brought up. – I don’t know what you want us to do. Talk about it? I don’t know what is the purpose of constantly bringing up this topic. I don’t think these incidents have anything to do with the players, but somehow you keep trying to get us involved. So – what is the purpose of this? I think you should ask yourself that question, not me.

When a media representative asked if she was not frustrated that the protesters used the tournament for their own purposes, she accused him of sensationalism and unreliability.

“Whatever I don’t answer now, it will be presented freely as you wish it to be.” Does it bother me? It bothers me that real things are happening in the world. I do not know. Do you do politics? You are a sports journalist. And I am an athlete. You’re asking me about things that maybe someone says are under my control, but I don’t believe it. I don’t know what you want me to answer. If it’s a provocative question, you can twist the story however you want.

Source: Sport.PL

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