Australian Open cracks down on players and their teams after Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan sparks pro-Russia sentiments

While Novak Djokovic has been making news for all the right reasons at the Australian Open, his father Srdjan has courted controversy by clicking pictures with Russian President Vladimir Putin's supporters.

Tennis Australia has reacted quickly, reminding players and their teams about their policy on the usage of flags and symbols that could fuel unrest. Russian and Belarusian flags and symbols have been banned at the Australian Open this year following Russia's Ukraine invasion in 2022.

The controversy on Thursday occurred when Serbian fans, spotted waving a Russian flag with Putin's image following Djokovic's quarterfinal win over Russia's Andrey Rublev, managed to get in the vicinity of the Serb's father.

As reported by the BBC, Srdjan Djokovic was snapped with a man holding the flag and wearing a T-shirt printed with the pro-war 'Z' symbol. Srdjan was also heard saying "Long live the Russians" in Serbian before he walked away.

Tennis Australia put out a statement, saying:

"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."

The statement continued:

"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."

Novak Djokovic's representatives are yet to make a comment on the same.

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Novak Djokovic eyes 10th Australian Open title

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic has been a man on a mission at Melbourne Park this fortnight. Despite an injury-plagued build-up to the first Grand Slam of the year, the 35-year-old has dropped only one set in five matches to reach a 10th Australian Open semifinal.

The 35-year-old was especially clinical in the last two rounds, dropping only five games against Alex de Minaur in the fourth round and seven games against fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals.

Unperturbed by all the happenings with his father, hopefully, Djokovic will next play first-time Grand Slam semifinalist Tommy Paul on Friday for a place in Sunday's final. He's a perfect 18-0 beyond the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic, riding a 26-match win streak at Melbourne Park, needs two more wins this fortnight to go level with Rafael Nadal (22) for most Grand Slam singles titles by a male player in the Open Era. Victory will also return the Serb to the top of the ATP singles rankings.