Novak Djokovic leapt to the defence of his father after he posed with a group of Vladimir Putin supporters at the Australian Open.
Footage emerged this week of Russian supporters chanting Putin's name in Melbourne, whilst also parading the country's flag. Srdjan Djokovic is then seen posing with a pro-Putin supporter, who is sporting the banned military 'Z' symbol on his chest, before the father of the nine-time champion allegedly comments: "Long live Russia."
Following his progression to his 10th Australian Open final, the 35-year-old attempted to clear up any confusion regarding the incident and clear his dad of any wrongdoing.
The former world No.1 says his father thought the man he was filmed with on Wednesday night was holding a Serbian flag, and that what was said was misinterpreted and he was "misused".
"I'm sorry that that has escalated so much,” he explained. “But I hope people understand that there was absolutely no intention whatsoever to support any kind of war initiatives or anything like that. As my father put in a statement, we are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war. We know how devastating that is for the family, for people in any country that is going through the war."
Following the emergence of the footage, Srdjan decided not to attend his son's semi-final against Tommy Paul. In a statement released by the tennis star's representatives, Djokovic Snr said: "I am here to support my son only. I had no intention of causing such headlines or disruption.
“I was outside with Novak's fans as I have done after all of my son's matches to celebrate his wins and take pictures with them. I had no intention of being caught up in this. My family has lived through the horror of war, and we wish only for peace.
“So there is no disruption to the semi-final for my son or for the other player, I have chosen to watch from home. I wish for a great match and I will be cheering for my son, as always," he said. After overcoming a wobble in the first set, Djokovic now stands on the brink of a record-extending 10th Australian Open title.
He needed two hours and 20 minutes to defeat Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 on Friday in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park. "I was really fortunate to hold my nerve toward the end of the first set," said Djokovic, who will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final. "It was a key. After that I started swinging through the ball more, so I'm just really pleased to get through to another final.
"It means everything, especially at this stage of my career," added Djokovic. "I need that engine, I need that energy and I'm really thankful that I still have enough gas in my legs to be able to play in this level on one of the biggest tennis courts in the world."
Sunday’s final will also be a straight shootout for No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, with the winner set to leapfrog Carlos Alcaraz into top spot on Monday.
