Novak Djokovic has been condemned by Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko's coach Nikita Vlasov for not speaking out against his father Srdjan during a controversial incident at this year's Australian Open.
The incident occurred when Djokovic's father was seen posing with fans who were brandishing pro-Russia flags and pro-Putin signs while chanting pro-Russia slogans after Djokovic's quarter-final clash with Andrey Rublev, a Russian player who currently competes as a neutral athlete.
After the controversial occurrence, Djokovic said that his father had mistaken the Russian flags for Serbian ones and refuted allegations that Srdjan had said "Long Live Russia", instead saying the phrase was mistranslated. The World No. 1 also insisted that his family would never support war after their experiences in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s.
In a recent interview with Tribuna, Vlasov reacted to the incident by saying that Srdjan's actions could not be excused and that Djokovic should have had the courage to condemn his father's actions.
"It was a stupid situation. This is my personal opinion. Djokovic's father said 'Glory to Russia' on camera and then claimed he was misunderstood. It's not even a human act.
"If you said so, take responsibility for your words. Djokovic also didn't have the courage to say frankly that he didn't support his father's behavior," he said.
Vlasov went on to add that Djokovic has never directly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine which began in February 2022. Moreover, he stated that he wished the 24-time Grand Slam champion would have used his status in a better way to support Ukraine, taking his lack of doing so as a sign that he and his family 'support Russia.'
"At no point in his interviews did Novak directly condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine, or call for the horror in our country to stop. Would it be a good time to use his status to put an end to all this, to call for peace? No, they support Russia," he said
"I was very surprised that this position was expressed so openly, so crudely. And on the occasion of such a competition," Vlasov added in relation to Srdjan's actions in Melbourne.
Russians shouldn't play in international sporting events. #NovakDjokovic's father supports Russia's genocidal invasion of #Ukraine. At #AustralianOpen2023 Srdjan Djokovic posed with supporters wearing Z shirts & Russian flags with Putin's face. bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/6…
