Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after profitable the primary spherical match of the French Open tennis event in opposition to Aleksandar Kovacevic of the U.S. in three units, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7), at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on May 29, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP
Novak Djokovic has drawn criticism from Kosovo’s tennis federation — however not from French Open organisers — after providing his ideas on clashes in northern Kosovo between ethnic Serbs and police and NATO peacekeepers.
Djokovic is a 36-year-old from Serbia who has received 22 Grand Slam titles and is scheduled to play within the second spherical at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
After a first-round victory on Monday, Djokovic wrote in Serbian on the lens of a courtside TV digital camera: “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence.”
Kosovo’s tennis federation stated Tuesday that Djokovic’s comments have been “deplorable” as a result of he was stoking tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.
A former province of Serbia, Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence shouldn’t be recognised by Belgrade. Ethnic Albanians make up a lot of the inhabitants, however Kosovo has a restive Serb minority within the north of the nation bordering Serbia.
NATO stated on Tuesday it should ship 700 extra troops to northern Kosovo to assist quell violent protests after clashes with ethnic Serbs left 30 worldwide troopers wounded. Tensions first elevated over the weekend, after ethnic Albanian officers elected in votes overwhelmingly boycotted by Serbs entered municipal buildings. When the Serbs tried to dam them, Kosovo police fired tear gasoline to disperse the gang.
Speaking to reporters in Serbian, Djokovic stated Monday that he thought what he wrote on the TV digital camera was “the least I could do.
“I really feel accountability as a public determine … in addition to a son of a person who was born in Kosovo,” Djokovic said.
Without mentioning Djokovic by name, French Open organisers indicated in a statement issued Tuesday that no rules had been broken:
“Occasionally, discussions about worldwide information occasions enter the realm of the event, which is comprehensible.”
