He should also ban himself from the final if his son made it – not known at the time of writing, but presumed – and if he does not, Tennis Australia should ban him.
We won’t hold our breath. Pro tennis has a serve clock, to minimise time-wasting. TA’s serve clock is calibrated in years.
After dithering all day, TA put out a statement late in the afternoon that said … what it has already said. It would continue to remove banned flags and symbols, continue to protect fans, continue to talk to players about the need not to cause stress or disruption and continue to call for peace in our time.
And it would continue to take no action against the father of the biggest name left in the tournament, a nine-time winner here, the most significant figure in Melbourne Park history. Draw your own conclusions.
Twelve months ago, two Australian Open spectators turned up in T-shirts that asked “where’s Peng Shuai?” They were protesting a suspected human rights violation concerning a Chinese player and they gave no offence other than to breach a draconian list of conditions on theirs and everyone’s tickets. They were evicted.
By associating himself with the flag-wielding protestors, Djokovic senior tacitly not only broke the same rules, but actively supported a known and egregious trampling of human rights. And yet he faces no sanction other than what he self-imposes.
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Win or lose on Friday night, Novak’s head would have been hurting more than his notorious hamstring. It’s impossible not to feel sorry for him. Yes, he divides people, but in this he finds himself divided, between family and the right thing. It’s not his fault, but it becomes like a double fault, a setback.
Djokovic senior’s intemperance has had two perverse outcomes. One is to concentrate minds again on Russia’s war against Ukraine. The other arises from the still unresolved debate in this country about how to deal with hate speech without hopelessly infringing free speech.
Old man Djokovic has stirred up hate all right, for himself, and if not collaterally for his son, at least given the sizeable number of fans who have never warmed to him anyway more reason to withhold affection even as he scales yet greater tennis heights.
