"Be really careful" - Australian Open director Tiley to Djokovic family

| by Sebastian Dahlman

Craig Tiley warned the Djokovic family from sending any unwanted images from the Australian Open after Djokovic's father was spotted with pro-Russia supporters.

When he was photographed in Melbourne Park with a group of people expressing shocking views, Srdjan Djokovic attracted unwanted attention. He claimed that he was not aware that the crowd were carrying pro-Russia signs.

After the pictures made rounds around the globe, Srdjan Djokovic released a statement explaining he only thanked the fans and left soon after. Novak himself called the situation misunderstanding echoing his father's anti-war stance. In a talk with The Age, Tiley spoke on the matter.

My advice is that you have to be really careful because if this is an event of global significance, it’s a platform. When you have hundreds of thousands of people to 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.

Tiley on the flag incident
Aryna Sabalenka comes back from set down to win her first Grand Slam title at 2023 Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka comes back from set down to win her first Grand Slam title at 2023 Australian Open

Tiley spoke to the family plenty during their stay in Australia, their first in a really long time. He explained the situation to them and was happy they could come to the same conclusion.

And they completely understand that. 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.

Tiley on the Djokovic's

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