CNN
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serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic he stood by his determination to ship a political message about Kosovo on the French Open.
After his first-round win on Monday, Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the (coronary heart image) of Serbia. Cease the violence” on a tv digicam lens in response to the violent clashes in Kosovo.
tensions have been growing final week in Kosovowhich declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. On Monday there have been clashes with protesters over the set up of ethnic Albanian mayors in a contested election.
Dozens of NATO peacekeepers have been injured on Monday after clashes erupted with Serbian protesters attempting to forestall newly elected mayors from taking workplace within the northern municipality of Zvecan.
Djokovic, whose father was born in Kosovo, stated this week that he felt obliged to “give my help to our individuals and to all of Serbia”.
His reference to “all of Serbia” displays the coverage of the Serbian authorities, which nonetheless considers Kosovo 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 on whether or not he desires Kosovo to be a part of Serbia, however didn’t obtain a response.
“After all, I am conscious that lots of people would disagree, however it’s what it’s,” Djokovic stated on Wednesday after his second-round win over Hungary’s Márton Fucsovics. “It is one thing I stand for. So, that is it.”
He added that he had not spoken to French Open event director Amélie Mauresmo concerning the incident.
On Tuesday, Kosovo Olympic Committee (KOC) known as on the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF) to take disciplinary motion in opposition to Djokovic.
The KOC said that the 22-time Grand Slam champion “once more promoted Serbian nationalist propaganda and used the sports activities platform to take action,” thus elevating “the extent of rigidity and violence between the 2 international locations, Kosovo and Serbia.”
Nonetheless, the ITF stated the conduct of gamers at a Grand Slam is ruled by the related organizer’s Grand Slam rulebook, in which there’s “no provision … prohibiting political statements”.
The IOC stated athletes solely fall beneath its authority throughout the Olympics.
Djokovic isn’t any stranger to controversy at Grand Slam tournaments. On the Australian Open in January, he stated that his father, Srdjan, had no intention of supporting “any form of conflict initiatives”, being filmed with a gaggle of Russian supporters on the Australian Open.
Then, on the 2022 Australian Open, the 36-year-old was deported of the nation after arriving in Melbourne with out being vaccinated in opposition to Covid-19.
“A grand slam with out drama, I do not assume it will probably occur to me,” he stated on Wednesday. “You realize, I assume that drives me too.”
Djokovic faces Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina within the third spherical of the French Open on Friday as he continues his bid for a twenty third Grand Slam title, yet one more than Rafael Nadal on the high of the boys’s all-time listing.