Explained: Novak Djokovic embroiled in another controversy – not of his own doing

Melbourne: Novak Djokovic made a slow start to the Australian Open, hampered by a left hamstring that he’s had taped for each match. To stay alive in the competition, he has been following a strict treatment regimen and taking pain-killing pills.

That seems to be doing the job with the Serb into the semi-final having won 11 consecutive sets and dropped just 27 games. In his last three matches, he swept aside Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, and Andrey Rublev with clinical precision and disdain.

On court, all is well for Djokovic – even if he’s required to call the physio or confront hecklers. Off the court, though, things are not rosy, and they have very little to do with him.

Q. What is the controversy surrounding Djokovic’s father?

After beating Russia’s Rublev in the quarter-final, Djokovic’s father Srdjan was filmed posing with Russian flags, which were earlier banned at the Australian Open, including one featuring Vladimir Putin. The fans then began to chant alleged pro-Russian and pro-Putin slogans on the steps of the Rod Laver Arena.

That footage was later lapped up and posted on a pro-Russian Australian YouTube account owned by Simeon Boikov. The video was captioned: “Novak Djokovic’s father makes bold political statement.” He has 161,000 subscribers on his YouTube account.

The individual who posed with Srdjan wore a black T-shirt with a “Z” on it — a symbol that is used to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Consequently, four individuals were arrested by Victoria Police and ejected from Melbourne Park. Tennis Australia said in a brief statement that they “revealed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards”.

As per the Melbourne Age newspaper, he said in Serbian: “Long live Russia.” Meanwhile, Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo said some of the translations have been inaccurate. He tweeted that in this context, Djokovic’s father said, “cheers, guys” or “goodbye” to the gathered crowd.

Q. Who is Simeon Boikov – the person who rallied Russians?

Ahead of the Djokovic-Rublev quarter-final, Simeon Boikov called on Russian supporters to descend on Melbourne Park to protest the flag ban.

“This is about honour and dignity now. This is an attack on honour and dignity. This has got nothing to do with the war,” he said in a video message.

“The Russian empire has had its flag banned,” he added. “Well guess what Tennis Australia? Good luck when the empire strikes back.”

Boikov, who goes by the name “Aussie Cossack”, is accused of assaulting a 76-year-old man at a rally in support of Ukraine in Sydney in December.

Currently seeking refuge in the Russian consulate in Sydney, Boikov didn’t show up for his court hearing after being charged with assault causing bodily harm. The court then issued a warrant for his arrest.

Q. What has been the reaction to the controversy?

Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia urged Tennis Australia to ban Djokovic’s father from the first major of the year. “He should be stripped of his accreditation. It’s up to Novak and his team to address this and fix it,” ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko told news agency AFP.

He was more scathing when speaking to Herald Sun. “I don’t know why he (Djokovic’s father) would say something like that considering what the Russians are doing in Ukraine, how many people they have killed, tortured, raped and all the summary executions that have happened against civilians.”

“This whole Australian Open tournament since the beginning was a controversy, around the participation of the Russian players, then the flags, now we’ve seen this provocation.

“It was further aggravated by the comments Djokovic’s dad has made. Djokovic is a superstar and he’s the number one celebrity in the tennis world, so it’s very disappointing to see his father supporting Russia.”

He also called on Novak to personally apologise and clarify his stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It’s important for Novak to address this situation,” he said. “He should apologise for what has happened, and condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” before adding.

Former Ukrainian tennis player Alexandr Dolgopolov, who has taken up arms to defend his country, also said Djokovic’s father should not be allowed to tennis events. “This guy will get banned for life, at least for all Australian events, right? @AustralianOpen.”

Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk, 20, said it was “very upsetting.” She spoke after losing in the women’s doubles semi-finals, “I don’t know what the rules are, I don’t know what the tournament is allowed to do… but this kind of thing can’t be left unseen. It doesn’t matter who you are, nobody is allowed to do it. It’s very upsetting.”

Q. What has been the response from Tennis Australia and Djokovic’s team?

Ahead of his semi-final against Tommy Paul, Djokovic’s father said in a statement that he won’t be present for the contest on Rod Laver Arena. Srdjan further insisted he “wishes only for peace.”

“I am here to support my son only. I had no intention of causing such headlines or disruption,” he said. ” 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 tonight’s 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.”

In the aftermath of Djokovic senior’s statement, Tennis Australia issued a more elaborate statement of their own relating to the situation on Wednesday.

“After the events of Wednesday night, we acted swiftly to work with police and our security teams to have the instigators of the protest removed from the venue.” the statement said.

“Throughout the event we’ve spoken with players and their teams about the importance of not engaging in any activity that causes distress or disruption.

“Mr Srdjan Djokovic has issued a statement confirming that he will not attend tonight’s semi final.

“We will continue to strive for the safety of fans at the event and reiterate our position banning flags from Belarus and Russia.

“Tennis Australia stands with the call for peace and an end to war and violent conflict in Ukraine.”

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