Australian Open – Novak Djokovic reacts to incident involving father Srdjan Djokovic: “Misinterpretation at a high level”

Different interpretations had arisen because Srdjan Djokovic was filmed after his son’s quarterfinals with people who apparently approved of the war.

At least that’s what the pro-Russian symbols and a flag with Vladimir Putin’s likeness suggest.

“It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened yesterday escalated to such a high level,” Djokovic said. “My father, my whole family and I went through several wars in the 1990s,” said the 35-year-old.

Srdjan Djokovic reacts to incident

“We want nothing more than peace,” said Srdjan Djokovic in a statement and, due to the excitement, decided not to watch his son’s semifinals in the Rod Laver Arena.

Novak Djokovic explained that the fateful shot was taken when he accidentally passed the people with the Russian flag. Since there were also many Serbian flags, his father was not aware of what was happening.

Novak Djokovic: “Some media misinterpreted”

“I heard what he said in the video. He said: cheers. Unfortunately, some media outlets really misinterpreted that. I’m sorry that this has escalated so much. But I hope people understand that it absolutely was not intended to support war initiatives or anything like that,” emphasized the superstar.

It has not yet been decided whether the father will be back in the box in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday, but: “I would like him to be in the final.”