Novak Djokovic defends his father after setting up the final by Stefanos Tsitsipas

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By Simon Briggs, Tennis Correspondent, in Melbourne

Novak Djokovic admitted scrutiny about his father Srjjan “got to me” after a curiously inconsistent performance against Tommy Ball in the Australian Open semi-final.

Such was Djokovic’s superiority that he was still able to beat unseeded Paul in straight sets, setting up an intriguing final against Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, as he admitted afterwards: “I was struggling both physically and emotionally.”

Djokovic also said his father’s actions on Wednesday night – when Srdjan was photographed with pro-Russian protesters – had been misinterpreted. He noted that the comment made by Srdjan, translated by a Putin-supported YouTube channel as “Long live the Russians”, was actually just a “cheer”.

“My father, my whole family, and myself went through several wars during the 1990s,” Djokovic said. “As my father said in a statement, we are against war, and we will not support any violence or any war. We know how this affects families and people in any country going through war.”

Djokovic confirmed that Srdjan was going out to meet the Serbian fans outside the Rod Laver Arena after every match his son played at the event, before adding that Srdjan’s generosity was “misused in this situation by this group.” [of war-supporting fans]He also explained that he learned of the incident on Thursday evening, after tournament director Craig Tiley called his entourage to suggest they stay away from political statements.

“I’m sorry it escalated so much,” said Djokovic. But I hope people understand that there was never any intention of supporting any kind of war initiative or anything like that.

“My dad was passing by. There were a lot of Serbian flags around. He thought he was taking a picture with someone from Serbia. Of course, it doesn’t make me happy to go through that with all the things I had to deal with last year and this year in Australia. It’s nothing I want it or I need it. I hope people will allow it, and we can focus on tennis.”

Djokovic added that he did not feel angry with his father because it was “not his fault”, and admitted that “it didn’t feel good not to have him in the box”. When asked if Srdjan (who stayed away from Friday’s semi-final to avoid “disturbance”) will return to the players’ area for the final, he said: “I hope he feels okay to be on the courts because I’d like to be there.”

It would take Tsitsipas’ performance for the ages to beat Djokovic

Djokovic needed just 2 hours and 20 minutes to subdue Paul. The match was largely one-sided, except for a 20-minute stint in the opening set when he lost his way and the crowd began to line up behind the underdog.

During the on-court interview after his 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 win, Djokovic admitted that he suffered from “heavy legs” in that period. He was scored—or may have been deducted—with 24 unforced errors in the opening set, which is more than he would normally have done in the entire match.

Part of the problem may have been losing focus after becoming frustrated with boss Damien Dumusois’ round-the-clock rule. As he progressed to the chair, Djokovic complained that Dumusois started the countdown while he was still drying himself, and said he should have been given extra time – although there is no set rule for this.

Djokovic’s uncharacteristic negligence saw him let his 5-1 advantage slip to 5-5 before gritting his teeth and pressing on for the last two games. He then put his finger behind his ear in a taunt to the fans, who were enthusiastically supporting Paul. They displayed a hearty boo in response.

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