CNN
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Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has stood by his choice to ship a political message about Kosovo on the French Open.
After his first-round victory on Monday, Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the [heart symbol] of Serbia. Cease the violence” on a TV digital camera lens in response to violent clashes in Kosovo.
Tensions have been rising up to now week in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. There have been clashes with protesters on Monday over the set up of ethnically Albanian mayors in a disputed election.
Dozens of NATO peacekeepers had been injured on Monday after clashes erupted with Serbian demonstrators making an attempt to dam the newly elected mayors from taking workplace within the northern municipality of Zvecan.
Djokovic, whose father was born in Kosovo, mentioned this week that he felt obliged to “give my help to our individuals and to everything of Serbia.”
His reference to the “entirety of Serbia” displays the coverage of the Serbian authorities, which nonetheless considers Kosovo to be an integral a part of its territory and has not acknowledged the nation’s independence.
CNN earlier this week sought clarification from Djokovic’s illustration to see if he desires Kosovo to be a part of Serbia however didn’t obtain a response.
“In fact, I’m conscious that lots of people would disagree, however it’s what it’s,” Djokovic mentioned on Wednesday after his second-round victory in opposition to Hungary’s Márton Fucsovics. “It’s one thing that I stand for. In order that’s all.”
He added that he had not spoken to French Open match director Amélie Mauresmo in regards to the incident.
On Tuesday, the Kosovan Olympic Committee (KOC) known as for the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) and Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF) to take disciplinary motion in opposition to Djokovic.
The KOC claimed that the 22-time grand slam champion had “but once more promoted the Serbian nationalist propaganda and used the game platform to take action,” thereby elevating “the extent of stress and violence between the 2 nations, Kosovo and Serbia.”
Nevertheless, the ITF mentioned that gamers’ conduct at a grand slam is ruled by the grand slam rulebook of the related organizer, in which there’s “no provision … that prohibits political statements.”
The IOC mentioned that athletes solely fall below its authority throughout the Olympic Video games.
Djokovic is not any stranger to controversy at grand slam tournaments. On the Australian Open in January, he mentioned that his father, Srdjan, didn’t intend to help “any sort of battle initiatives,” having been filmed with a bunch of Russian supporters on the Australian Open.
Then on the 2022 Australian Open, the 36-year-old was deported from the nation after arriving in Melbourne unvaccinated in opposition to Covid-19.
“A drama-free grand slam, I don’t suppose it may possibly occur for me,” he mentioned on Wednesday. “You recognize, I assume that drives me as properly.”
Djokovic faces Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina within the third spherical of the French Open on Friday as he continues his bid to win a twenty third grand slam title – yet one more than Rafael Nadal on the prime of the lads’s all-time checklist.
