'That's what I think': Djokovic stands by his comments on Kosovo despite controversy

He will not be silenced. "I could repeat it, but I won't. A lot of people don't agree, but that's what I think," Novak Djokovic said after his second-round victory at Roland Garros, when asked about the controversy after taking a stand on the Serbia-Kosovo conflict. The French Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, had sharply criticized his exit.

On Monday, while Kosovo has been the scene for several days of clashes between members of the international force led by NATO and Serbian demonstrators, Djokovic had written on the camera of the Philippe-Chatrier court: "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia! Stop the violence. He explained that he felt "an additional responsibility, as a public figure and as the son of a man born in Kosovo, to provide (his) support to all the Serbian people."

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The International Tennis Federation stressed on Wednesday that "political statements" by players were not prohibited. "This is not appropriate," Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said earlier. "It must not happen again," warned the minister, calling this message "militant" and "very political".

For its part, the Olympic Committee of Kosovo has asked the International Olympic Committee to open disciplinary proceedings against Djokovic considering that he "stokes" political tensions. The president of the tennis federation had said earlier in the day that "this is not the first time that Djokovic has done this", a player who "continually provokes our country".