Any hopes Novak Djokovic had for smooth sailing towards the end of his quest for 10th Australian Open have been crushed after his father Srdjan was filmed at a pro-Russia rally outside Melbourne Park on Wednesday night.
In the footage, Djokovic Sr was warmly greeted by the group of pro-Russia protesters – four of whom were earlier expelled from Melbourne Park by police after reportedly threatening security. The tennis superstar’s father posed for photos next to Russian flags – including one bearing the face of president Vladamir Putin – and with a man wearing a shirt emblazoned with the infamous ‘Z’ symbol.
As he leaves, he can be heard saying to one of the men “zivejli Russiyani”, which translates to “cheers to Russian citizens”.
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Earlier in the evening Simeon Boiko, whose YouTube channel posted the footage, called for Russian fans to ‘strike back’ at Tennis Australia for banning Russian flags and pro-war symbols.
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“Today Djokovic plays Andrey Rublev. I hereby appeal or instruct everyone to get down there. I can confirm that we’ve got some surprises,” Boikov said.
“Tennis Australia brace yourselves… for fans, for people who love tennis, if you know what I mean. I’ve got to word it that way or they’ll get me for incitement. We’ve got a lot of serious fans in Melbourne heading down.”
During Djokovic’s win over Russian opponent Rublev, one man in the stands was spotted taking off a layer to reveal a shirt with the prohibited ‘Z’ symbol.
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The man was seen covering his shirt with a jacket after being spoken to by an Australian Open official – but was not expelled from the stadium.
After the match Djokovic unwittingly signed another banned shirt held out by the same fan.
Ukrainian former world No.20 Alexandr Dolgopolov – who has returned to Ukraine to fight in the war with Russia – called for a life ban for the fan.
He also called out Djokovic senior for the “disgusting” incident.
Tennis Australia confirmed to Wide World of Sports that a “small group of people” had been evicted for their behaviour.
“A small group of people displayed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards following a match on Wednesday night and were evicted. One patron is now assisting police with unrelated matters.
“Players and their teams have been briefed and reminded of the event policy regarding flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that has the potential to disrupt. We continue to work closely with event security and law enforcement agencies.”
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