Novak Djokovic’s father was caught on camera with fans waving pro-Russian flags during the Australian Open. These scenes were described as “shameful” by the Ukrainian ambassador in Canberra.
After Novak Djokovic won the quarter-final once morest Andrey Rublev on Wednesday night, a group of supporters unfurled Russian flags, including one with the face of President Vladimir Putin, near the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, while chanting pro-Russian slogans.
A video later posted on an Australian pro-Russian YouTube channel showed Srdjan Djokovic, the player’s father, posing with the man waving the flag with Putin’s face. All with the caption: “Novak Djokovic’s father makes a bold political statement”.
Serbian sports journalists have confirmed that it was indeed Djokovic-father. The Melbourne Age newspaper also indicated that he launched, in Serbian: “long life to Russia”.
ats/jfk
