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Srdjan Djokovic, father of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, posed with supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Australian Open Grand Slam tournament.
Footage has been circulating online showing Djokovic Sr. standing next to a man holding a Russian flag and wearing a T-shirt with the Z war symbol printed on it.
After Novak Djokovic’s quarterfinal victory over Russian Andrei Rublev on Wednesday, there were several pro-Russian speeches. A group of fans in Serbian colors hung a Russian flag with Putin’s image in front of the Rod Laver Arena. Some chanted in support of Russia and had a Serbian flag wrapped around their shoulders. Russian and Belarusian flags are prohibited in Melbourne Park.
“A small group of people hung inappropriate flags and symbols in the evening after the match. They threatened members of the security service, after which they were escorted out of the complex. We reminded the players and their teams of the rules of the event regarding flags and symbols,” responded the Australian Tennis Association.
A pro-Russian Australian YouTube account later posted a video showing Srdjan Djokovic next to a man holding a Russian flag with an image of Putin. “Novak Djokovic’s father made a bold political statement,” it says in the caption. Serbian tennis reporters confirmed that it was Novak Djokovic’s father. According to Australian newspaper The Age, Djokovic had to say in Serbian: “Long live Russia.”
The operator of the account, Simeon Bojkov, called on Russian supporters to run into Melbourne Park in protest against the ban on flags and symbols. “Now this is about honor and dignity. This is an attack on honor and dignity. This has nothing to do with war. The Russian Empire has been banned from the flag. Tennis Australia, guess what? Good luck when the empire strikes back,” he said in a video link.
Tournament organizer Tennis Australia said on Thursday it would continue to enforce entry rules at Melbourne Park without directly addressing the incident involving Djokovic’s father. Novak Djokovic’s team has not yet commented on the incident. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Russian and Belarusian players have been competing under a neutral white flag, and so it is with the Australian Open. The information was brought by the AFP agency.
