Australian Open: Srdjan Djokovic, Novak's cumbersome and noisy father

In search of permanent love with the public, Novak Djokovic is also able to feed on the animosity of a stadium to better digest his opponents.

If he is not likely to ignite the popularity rating of his son, Srdjan Djokovic, on the other hand, is more likely to fuel the fire of criticism around "Djoko".

This Wednesday, the father was thus filmed in the company of supporters waving pro-Russian flags, including one flanked by the face of Vladimir Putin.

The Australian federation had indicated that it did not tolerate Russian banners inside Melbourne Park.

This did not prevent Srdjan from launching a slogan "Long live Russia" full of conviction, according to The Age.

It was enough to stir up controversy.

Huge favorite of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic will not approach his semi-final against the American Tommy Paul, this Friday, in all serenity.

Dad's fault.

This is…quite a mess for the #AusOpen, to say the least.

Srdjan Djokovic posing with the pro-Putin rally last night just outside Rod Laver Arena.

The levels of security breakdowns that allowed for this are staggering.

Story/video via @jamesgraysport:https://t.co/L4gtaKKNP6 pic.twitter.com/qnOx3MGYqB

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 26, 2023

The Serbian champion is nevertheless used to having ringing ears, between the outings of his father and the reactions they arouse.

Angry and noisy, Srdjan has notably targeted Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal with regularity.

During a semi-final of the Hamburg tournament in 2008, he had thus become embedded in the cabin of a Serbian commentator, on the grounds that the journalist was "obsessed with Nadal" and did not defend "Djoko" enough.

“My father, a very passionate man”

The cumbersome father had also invited "Roger" to put away his headband, two and a half years before the Swiss announced his retirement.

“Go home, raise your children, go skiing, do something,” he had belched during a program on Serbian television.

Federer is a big rival for my son, but he's not good enough to compare to Novak.

“A year later, the Serb had also assured that the newly retired was “not a good man”, forcing his son to receive liters of controversy, without criticizing the words of the dad.

“My father is a very, very passionate man.

He protects me and he loves me, Djokovic had justified on the sidelines of the Monte-Carlo tournament.

I always stand by my father and everything he does.

We are a family.

Of course I will stay on his side and protect him.

Everyone has the right to say what they think although I can't always agree with everything they say.

»

Since small, "Nole" must deal with the pressure of the family circle.

Raised in a small Kosovar village, Srdjan was a ski instructor and ran a restaurant in the resort of Kopaonik when his offspring discovered the joys of snowshoeing.

Warned by Novak's first coach, Jelena Gencic, of the son's talent, the restaurateur will push his child ever higher, even if it means neglecting the rest of the siblings.

“Unfortunately for the whole family, Marko and Djordje did not receive 1% of the enthusiasm that I had for him.

It took all my energy, ”he admitted, according to comments reported by

.

Obviously, he had enough left to demand the most from Novak.

The Djokovic family have bet a lot of money on the former world number 1 to propel him to the heights.

Once at the top, “Djoko” had to carry around his divisive star status, dragging with him the incessant hubbub

Srdjan.

He compares Novak to Jesus and Spartacus

Deprived of the Australian Open and the US Open in 2022, Novak Djokovic has had his most eventful season, preceded by his rejection of vaccination and his strange positive tests.

Faced with the waves faced by the double winner of Roland-Garros, the Djokovic family stood up as a breakwater.

Srdjan elevated his offspring to the rank of martyr, while he was banned from Australia.

"Jesus was crucified on the cross and everything was done to him," he says.

But he is still alive among us now.

Now Novak is being crucified, they are doing everything to him,” he chanted at a rally in front of the country’s Assembly in Belgrade.

Before being expelled from Oceania, the Serbian champion had been released from his detention center.

The cancellation of his visa had been - temporarily - lifted.

A news celebrated by a press conference organized by the parents and the brother of Novak in Serbia.

Display of the tennis player's trophies, patriotic song, Srdjan, Dijana and Djordje ensure the show.

The father seasons everything: “Today they can throw him in a dungeon, tomorrow they can chain him.

Novak is the Spartacus of a new world that will not tolerate injustice, colonialism and hypocrisy.

»

They will be much less talkative when the journalists present talk about the releases of Novak, supposed to be positive for Covid, in December 2021. The brother signals the end of the press conference.

The father, he has not finished carrying his son as a "leader of the free world, of countries and oppressed peoples" in opposition to the "powerful".

“Novak is the best player in the world but a few hundred million people in the west cannot stand him,” Srdjan was still surprised a year earlier.

If that's the case, it's not for nothing.