Djokovic’s father to avoid Australian Open semis after Putin row 

Novak Djokovic’s father Srjdan Djokovic will watch his son’s Australian Open semi-final from home after being pictured with supporters of Vladimir Putin. 

Srjdan Djokovic, 62, was photographed with a man holding a Russian flag with Putin’s face on it after Novak’s win over Russian Andrey Rublev on Wednesday. 

Novak faces American Tommy Paul in Melbourne on Friday. 

“I am here to support my son only,” Srdjan said in a statement.

The images of Srjdan also featured a man wearing a T-shirt printed with the pro-war Z symbol. 

Russian and Belarusian flags and symbols have been banned from Melbourne Park. 

Srdjan said: “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.”

‘Support for the rule of international law’

The Australian PM reiterated Australia’s support for Ukraine. 

“I will make this point, that Australia stands with the people of Ukraine. That is Australia’s position and Australia is unequivocal in our support for the rule of international law,” Anthony Albanese said at a news conference on Friday.

“We do not want to see any support given to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

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

It added: “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.

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