The diplomat also asked Djokovicwho defeated the American tommy paul in the semifinals of the tournament, personally apologize and clarify his position on the Russian invasion.
“It is important that Novak addresses this situation”he claimed. “He must apologize for what happened and condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
A video uploaded to a pro-Russian Australian account of Youtube showed on Thursday the father of Djokovic, srdjanposing with a man carrying a Russian flag with the face of Vladimir Putin and a T-shirt with the letter za symbol of support for the invasion of Ukraine.
The video carried the caption: “Novak Djokovic’s father makes courageous political pronouncement”. Serbian journalists confirmed that he is the father of Djokovic.
Another man was photographed by AFP inside the stadium during the match between Djokovic and the russian Andrei Rublev with a T-shirt with the letter z.
Those facts upset the Ukrainian tennis player Martha Kostyukwho on Friday played a doubles match at the Australian Open. “It hurts a lot because there were specific rules, it is printed outside that you are not allowed to bring these flags”stated kostyuk at a press conference after her defeat in the women’s doubles semifinal.
at the beginning of grand slams, tennis australiawhich organizes the tournament, prohibited the entry of flags and symbols of Russia Y belarus to the Melbourne Parkafter the appearance of Russian flags during a match by a Ukrainian player.
the embassy of Russia in Australia called this ban a “new example of unacceptable politicization of sport”.
To Myroshnychenkowho had claimed tennis australia the ban on these symbols, the new controversy may overshadow the performances of Djokovic during the tournament, to which he returns after being deported from the country a year ago for not being vaccinated against Covid.
“During the last Open, we only talked about Djokovic”declared the Ukrainian diplomat. “Now we only talk about Russian flags and Djokovic too.”
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“Absolutely disgusting (…) These people have no business in tennis tournaments, including Djokovic’s father, if they openly praise a genocidal regime”tweeted the Ukrainian tennis player Alex Dolgopolovcurrently fighting in his country.
tennis australia He said on Thursday that he would continue to work with security to enforce the entry rules and said he had reminded the players and their teams of these rules, without directly citing the incident with the father of Djokovic.
“The players and their teams have been informed and have been reminded of the event policy in relation to flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that has the possibility of being disruptive.”indicated.
Following the invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022, Russian and Belarusian players regularly participate in tennis competitions under a neutral flag.
This is the case in the australian openwhere a Russian player (Karen Khachanova) and two Belarusians (Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka) reached the semifinals of the individual draw.
Source: Ambito
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