Ukrainian ambassador demands Novak Đoković’s father who posed with fan wearing ‘Z-shirt’ be banned from attending Australian Open

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, has called on to ban Srđan Đoković, a former professional skier and the father of the world-renowned tennis player Novak Đoković, from attending matches at the Australian Open tournament, Myroshnychenko has told AFP.

The ambassador also urged Novak Đoković who will play against Tommy Paul of the US in the tournament’s semi-final on 27 January, to apologise and make his stance on the Ukraine War clear.

“He must apologise for what had happened and condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Myroshnychenko said.

This happened after Srđan Đoković was seen posing for pictures with fans wearing T-shirts with ‘Z’ symbols on them and holding Russian flags. He stated that he was simply spending time with fans of his son outside “as he always does to celebrate Novak’s victories and take pictures”.

The Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, banned fans from showcasing flags of Russia and Belarus on 17 January after fans displayed a Russian flag at the match on 16 January played between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova. Other spectators were dissatisfied with this move, particularly the ones from Ukraine. “This is profoundly unsafe, the war is ongoing,” a Ukrainian fan said.

The 2023 Australian Open is hosted by Melbourne and is taking place between 16 and 29 January. Russian and Belarusian players are cleared to compete as neutrals with unspecified nationalities.