'Be really careful...' Australian Open chief warns Djokovic and family after Russian flag controversy

Ahead of the men's singles final between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Australian Open chief Craig Tiley has warned the Serbian and his family. After Djokovic's father Srdjan Djokovic was pictured posing with a Russian flag-holding fan, Tiley said the family needed to be 'really careful' as the tournament was a platform that could be used by people for 'disruptive' purposes.

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"My advice is that you have to be really careful because if this is an event of global significance, it's a platform," Tiley was quoted as saying by AFP.

"When you have hundreds of thousands of people come through the gate, you're going to naturally have some people that are coming here with an intention to be disruptive, and don't get yourself caught in the middle of that."

Notably, on Wednesday, a video posted on YouTube by a known Vladimir Putin supporter showed Djokovic's father posing alongside him for a picture. The man wore a 'Z' symbol on his shirt and held a Russian flag with Putin's face on it.

After the post went viral, Djokovic's father released a statement saying, "I was outside with Novak’s fans as I have done after all of my son’s matches to celebrate his wins and take pictures with them. I had no intention of being caught up in this."

Tiley echoed a similar line and said Djokovic senior did not want to partake in such activity and that the family was against the ongoing war.

"The family were very good. They were upset that it was taken that way. There was no intention of it. His dad particularly does not support war and they're very focused on supporting peace."

Read more: Djokovic’s father to watch son's Australian Open semis match from home after Russian flag controversy

Djokovic supported his father by saying he was 'misused' in the situation.

"He was passing through, made a photo, it has escalated. He was misused in this situation by this group of people. I can't be angry with him or upset because I can say it was not his fault. He went out to celebrate with my fans."

Read more: Russian and Belarusian flags banned from Australian Open after Ukraine's complaint

Djokovic's father skipped his son's semi-final clash against Tommy Paul and choose to watch it from home - in an attemptto avoid any new controversy.

After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Russian and Belarusian players were barred from participating in Wimbledon Grand Slam. However, the players from the two countries have been competing under a neutral flag in the season's first Grand Slam.

At the start of the Australian Open, Tennis Australia released a statement informing that spectators and players were barred from using the Russian or Belarusian flags in Melbourne Park.

(With inputs from agencies)

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