Novak Djokovic has defended his father and said he did not intend to pose for pictures with supporters of Vladimir Putin at the Australian Open
The nine-time Australian Open champion said his father unknowingly stopped to greet the pro-Russian demonstrators and said he had been “misused” by the group.
His father Srdjan has explained that he was unwittingly caught up in the pro-Russian demonstration, which took place in Melbourne Park following Djokovic’s quarter-final victory over the Russian player Andrey Rublev.
Srdjan was pictured standing next to a Russian flag with Putin’s face on it and a man who wore a logo that indicates support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Djokovic’s father did not attend Friday’s semi-final match against Tommy Paul as he did not want to be a “disruption”.
Djokovic said he would like his father to return for Sunday’s final against Stefanos Tsitsipas and explained: “I can’t be angry with him. It was not his fault.”
“It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened yesterday has escalated to such a high level,” Djokovic said.
“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 till last 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.”
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