Djokovic moves into the semifinals against Rublew who has no chance
Novak Djokovic is only two wins away from his 22nd Grand Slam title. The 35-year-old Serb made it into the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the tenth time against the Russian Andrei Rublev, who had no chance.
After his Russia scandal at the Australian Open, Srdjan Djokovic draws consequences. He does not come to the stadium for his son Novak’s semifinals. He regrets his behavior. The tournament organizers are issuing a warning.
Novak Djokovic’s father has expressed regret over the incident involving a pro-Russian crowd during the Australian Open and decided against attending his son’s semifinal match on Friday. “I’m here to support my son. I had no intention of causing such headlines or disruption,” Srdjan Djokovic said, according to a statement for media outlets including Australian newspaper The Age.
“So that the semifinals tonight are not disturbed for my son or the other player, I decided to watch it at home,” said the father of the Serbian tennis star, who wants to make the finals perfect in the duel against the American Tommy Paul .
A video of Srdjan Djokovic posing with others behind a Russian flag with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Melbourne Park caused a stir on Thursday. Next to him is a man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the “Z” sign, which is considered a symbol of support for Russia, including the invasion of Ukraine. The video was released on a YouTube channel and is said to have been taken after Djokovic’s quarter-final win over Russia’s Andrei Rublev on Wednesday.
During the quarterfinals between Djokovic and Andrey Rublev, an obviously pro-Russian fan caused a stir
Credit: AFP/WILLIAM WEST
“I had no intention of getting involved in this,” Srdjan Djokovic said of the incident. He just wanted to celebrate with the fans and take pictures. He stressed that he “would only wish for peace” since his family had also experienced “the horrors of war”.
After the incident, the organizers of the Australian Open had again pointed out to the players and their teams that certain flags and symbols were banned. But there were also voices calling for a tournament ban for Srdjan Djokovic.
Tsitsipas reaches the final
Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas has already reached the final in Melbourne. In his semi-final match on Friday, the Greek defeated the Russian Karen Khachanov 7: 6 (7: 2), 6: 4, 6: 7 (6: 8), 6: 3 and is thus in a grand for the second time in his career -Slam final.
“I am extremely happy to be in the final. Let’s see what comes of it,” said Tsitsipas, who would also replace the absent Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz as number one in the world rankings if he won the tournament.
“I like that number,” Tsitsipas said with a grin, then the viewer’s favorite yelled into the microphone at the fans: “Let’s do it, guys! Let’s do it!” At 24 years and 170 days, Tsitsipas is the youngest male finalist at the Australian Open in twelve years.
