Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic’s family has been given a warning ahead of the Serbian’s Australian Open final match. Australian Open’s chief Craig Tiley has asked the family to be “very careful” of people using the tournament’s global exposure as a platform for “disruptive” purposes. This warning has been issued following the controversy surrounding Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic. He was seen with pro-Putin supporters holding Russian flags at Melbourne Park few days ago. Djokovic is set to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final on Sunday, 29th January 2023. Follow Australian Open 2023 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Australian Open 2023: “Be very careful”, Australian Open chief issues warning to Novak Djokovic’s family ahead of Men’s Singles final – Check Why?
Also Read: Australian Open 2023: Djokovic says images of father with Russian flags ‘misinterpreted’
“My advice is that you have to be really careful. Because if this is an event of global significance, it’s a platform,” Craig Tiley was quoted as saying by AFP.
“You have hundreds of thousands of people come through the gate. And you’re going to naturally have some people that are coming here with an intention to be disruptive. Don’t get yourself caught in the middle of that. And they completely understand that,” he added.
Following Djokovic’s quarterfinal win against Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, a video posted by a Russian supporter holding his nation’s flag went viral on YouTube. Djokovic’s father was seen posing alongside him for a picture. This soon raised a backlash from Ukraine as the country is currently ravaged in war following Russia’s invasion.
There were soon calls to ban Srdjan Djokovic from entering the Australian Open. As the issue escalated, Djokovic senior decided to not watch his son’s semifinal match from the stadium on Friday.
The father of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, Srjan, posed with fans who brought the Russian flag with a portrait of Vladimir Putin, to the Australian Open & said “Long live the Russians”.
It happened on Wednesday after the match in which Novak Djokovic beat Andrey Rublev. pic.twitter.com/vcF9EiJD62— John Carter (@JohnEdgarCarter) January 26, 2023
Following his semifinal contest, Djokovic issued a statement saying he “wishes only for peace” and had “no intention of causing such headlines or disruption”. “My father, my whole family have been through several wars. As my father put in the statement, we are against the war. We will never support any violence or war,” he added.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Russian and Belarusian players have normally competed under a neutral white flag as independents, as is the case at the Australian Open. Spectators have also been banned from having Russian or Belarusian flags at the Grand Slam event.
Djokovic’s family is expected to put this behind as the focus on Sunday will be on the final. Novak Djokovic is chasing his record 10th Australian Open. He is also trying to match Rafael Nadal’s tally of 22 Grand Slam titles. The winner of the Australian Open final will also become the World No.1 in Men’s Singles.
Australian Open 2023: “Be very careful”, Australian Open chief issues warning to Novak Djokovic’s family ahead of Men’s Singles final – Check Why?
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