French Open 2023 Results: Novak Djokovic Advances to the Second Round, His Controversial Action Highlights

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Novak Djokovic will qualify for the second round of the 2023 French Open, Monday, May 29. However, more media attention was focused on his controversial action by writing political messages after appearing in the first round of the grand slam tennis tournament.

Djokovis kept his hopes of a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title alive with a 6-3 6-2 7-6(1) win over Aleksandar Kovacevic. The collector of two Roland Garros titles seemed to have no trouble beating the 24-year-old American.

In the second round, he will face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.

“It’s always great to come back here, one of the best tournaments in the world,” said Djokovic after the match. “I’m very motivated to go far here, as I hoped.”

Controversial Statement

However, the Serb took the risk of stirring up controversy by making a political statement. He wrote “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence” into the camera lens in Serbian after the first round win.

Kosovo is an independent country. However, Serbia and its traditional ally Russia do not recognize that independence. Serbia still considers Kosovo part of its territory.

Things are heating up in Kosovo. Some 25 NATO peacekeepers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serbian protesters last Monday. Meanwhile, the Serbian president placed the army at the highest level of combat alert.

In interviews with Serbian media, Djokovic revealed the reason for writing the message. “Kosovo is our birthplace, our fortress, the center of the most important thing for our country. There are many reasons why I wrote that in front of the camera,” said the radio RFI quoted Djokovic as saying to Serbian media.

Will Novak Djokovic’s political actions result in sanctions? Apparently not.

The French Tennis Federation (FFT), the organizers of the French Open, said Reuters“there are no official Grand Slam rules about what players can or cannot say. FFT will not make any statements or take any position on this matter.”

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