Zhurova considered the scandal with Djokovic because of the action with the flag of the Russian Federation a provocation

The story of the Russian flag, for which Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic was reprimanded at the Australian Open, may turn out to be a deliberate and planned provocation towards Serbia for friendship with Russia. This opinion in conversation with expressed the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Olympic champion in speed skating Svetlana Zhurova.

Recall that at the Australian Open competitions, Djokovic and Serbian fans faced several unpleasant incidents at once. The first one was when a fan was not allowed to compete, trying to forbid him to carry the flag of Serbia, allegedly because of the similarity with the Russian one. The second, when Djokovic was insulted by spectators from the stands during the match. The third, when the administration of the Australian Open issued a warning to the Serbian tennis player himself for the Russian flags that were unfurled outside the stadium after the competition.

“A rather absurd situation. I saw a video with the fans. Our fans stood next to the Serbs, and, probably, someone uneducated or a very ardent dislike of the connection between Russia and Serbia considered this a provocation. And in order to dampen the spirit of Djokovic a little before the final matches”– said Svetlana Zhurova.

The Olympic champion explained why they create such provocations using the Wimbledon tournament as an example. When its organizers denied participation to Russians and Belarusians last year, they argued that they were afraid of unrest. The administrators said that no chants were heard at tennis competitions, there were no skirmishes, “after all, this is not football.”

It is worth noting that after the ban on the participation of Russians and Belarusians, the Association of Professional Tennis Players fined the organizers of the Wimbledon tournament one million dollars. In a matter of hours, they recognized that the participation of athletes from Belarus and Russia is still possible.

“Unfortunately, we see that this is what happens in the end. It seems to me that they are doing this especially now, at the beginning of the season, at the Australian Open, so that in the future the next organizers will think about whether it is worth allowing the Russians, since the Serbs already fall under this comb – not under sanctions, but already under detention. It seems like a special provocation for the International Tennis Federation to refuse to invite Russians and Belarusians, and so that the countries that will later host Grand Slam competitions also do not allow Russians “– Svetlana Zhurova emphasized.

Srdjan Djokovic, father of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, was caught on camera in the company of fans at the Australian Open. After his son’s victory over Russian tennis player Alexei Rublev, Srjan stood next to a man in a T-shirt with the letter Z, who holds the Russian flag in his hands, and said: “Long live the Russians.”