MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic’s father has been filmed posing with supporters brandishing pro-Russian flags at the Australian Open in scenes Ukraine’s ambassador on Thursday (Jan 26) slammed as “a shame”.
The Serbian star experienced just booked his position in the tournament semi-closing with a straight sets thumping of Russian opponent Andrey Rublev in Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night time.
Following the match a team of admirers unfurled Russian flags near the stadium, such as 1 showcasing Vladimir Putin’s face, chanting pro-Russian slogans.
Tennis Australia said four people today “exposed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened safety guards”. Law enforcement were being known as and they were being ejected from Melbourne Park.
A video afterwards posted to a professional-Russian Australian YouTube account showed Djokovic’s father Srdjan posing with a gentleman keeping the Putin flag.
It was captioned: “Novak Djokovic’s father tends to make daring political assertion.”
Serbian tennis reporters verified it was Djokovic’s father and the Melbourne Age newspaper documented he reported in Serbian: “Long reside Russia.”
Spectators are banned from owning Russian or Belarusian flags at the Grand Slam after Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, demanded action when they ended up found amid the crowd last 7 days.
He claimed on Twitter on Thursday that the latest incident was shameful.
“It’s a complete offer. Between the Serbian flags, there is: a Russian flag, Putin, Z-image, so-named Donetsk People’s Republic flag,” he tweeted with a website link to the video.
“It can be these a shame … @TennisAustralia @AustralianOpen.”