Djokovic: “Tsitsipas is in excellent condition, my father would never support the war”

THE Novak Djokovic defeated him very easily Tommy Paul with a score of 3-0 sets, securing his qualification to the final of the Australian Open, where he will face next Sunday (29/1, 10:30) the Stefanos Tsitsipas.

After the match, the Serbian star spoke at the press conference where he addressed both the Greek tennis player and the controversial incident of his father’s photo with Putin supporters.

“Nole’s” statements in detail:

For Tsitsipas: “I am playing in the final with Tsitsipas, who is in great condition, in great form and playing his best tennis. I am sure he will be highly motivated to win his first Grand Slam title. I know his game very well, he knows mine too. We have played several times on different surfaces. We also played in a Grand Slam final on clay at Roland Garros a few years ago. I know what’s in front of me, he’s excited.”



On his father and the photo he took with Vladimir Putin supporters: “It’s unfortunate that the misunderstanding of what happened yesterday escalated to such an extent. My father, my whole family and I, went through wars in the 90s. As my father said in his statement, we are against war, we would never support violence or war.”

“After every match my father meets my fans to thank them for their support, to take pictures. He took the photo while passing by. I heard what he said in the video, he said cheers. Unfortunately, some media translated it wrongly. I hope people understand that there was no intention to support war initiatives or anything like that. He was passing by, there were a lot of Serbian flags and he thought he was taking a picture with someone from Serbia. It’s not pleasant to go through this after what happened last year. It’s not something I need. I hope people leave it behind.”

“It was used by the people of this group. I can’t be mad at him because I can say it wasn’t his fault. He went to celebrate with my fans and that’s it. After that of course he felt bad because he knew it would have an effect on me, this pressure from the media in the last 48 hours. But that’s how it is, you have to accept it and move on.”



On whether he’s relieved to be in the final after what happened last year with the vaccination: “Honestly, I’m over it. I always had positive intentions to return. Of course the feelings were different after what happened last year. I’ve said many times though that I don’t hold grudges, I love playing in Australia, being here. This helped me feel comfortable and play well. I won in Adelaide, I’m in the final here. I haven’t missed a match in the last few weeks in Australia. I’m happy to be here and play so well.”

For the coexistence of Serbs and Greeks in the final: “Serbs and Greeks historically get along very well. I don’t think there will be a conflict on or off the court as far as the world is concerned. On the contrary, I am convinced that they will support their players with respect.”

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