By Ollie Lewis for Daily Mail Australia
1:50 p.m. on January 26, 2023, updated at 4:45 p.m. on January 26, 2023
Victoria Azarenka gave a spicy response to questions about the proliferation of pro-Russian flags at the Australian Open after Novak Djokovic‘s father was filmed posing with a Poutine flag.
The tennis tournament has been hit by controversy over the past 24 hours, with support from many fans. RussiaThe war against Ukraine during Djokovic’s victory over the Russian star Andrei Rublev.
A spectator was seen wearing a “Z” shirtwhich symbolizes ultra-nationalist support for Vladimir Putin, while supporters chanted pro-Russian chants in front of Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday evening.
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And footage uploaded to YouTube on Thursday showed Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic stood next to a man holding a Russian flag covered with Putin’s face. above. The man also wore a pro-war “Z” symbol.
The Russian and Belarusian flags have been banned from the grand slam, sparking concerns about the tournament’s security.
But Belarusian star Azarenka – who has won the competition twice – bristled at questions about the display of Russian flags at Melbourne Park in a frosty exchange with an Australian journalist.
Q. Many Russian and Belarusian players have come under scrutiny here. I’m sure that even if you hadn’t looked at social media, you would have seen that there was an incident with Novak’s father last night. Is it difficult for you, when you go out, to get all these things out of your mind? Do you think there are other players affected by this?
Victoria Azarenka: Other players are impacted by what exactly you ask?
Q. Distractions escape them, constant news and discussions about problems.
Victoria Azarenka: Who does the news come from?
Q. Well, from everyone, from social media.
Victoria Azarenka: You’re here talking about it right now, so it’s obviously a topic you want to keep bringing up over and over again (smiling).
I don’t know what you want me to say.
Q. Are you able to distance yourself completely? Does this concern you at all? Are you thinking about it? As a player, do you think how difficult this could be for Novak?
Victoria Azarenka: I don’t know what this has to do with Novak at all, to be honest, so…
I spoke today to a security guard who accompanied me to training every day. I’ve known him for years. I just asked him what the accident was (sic). He explained to me.
I don’t know what you want us to do about this. Do you like to talk about it? I don’t know what the point is here, if this is continually brought up. These incidents that I think have nothing to do with the players, but somehow you keep dragging the players into it.
So what is the goal here? I think you should be asking this question, not me.
Q. To clarify this. Does that frustrate you, particularly last night, for example, there was sort of a clear pro-Russian protest within the tournament grounds, that these people are coming and using the Australian Open as a platform for this type of event. Does this frustrate you?
Victoria Azarenka: Whatever answer I give you now, it will face the direction you want to turn it. So does this bother me? What bothers me is that there are real things happening in the world. I don’t know. Are you a politician? Are you? Do you cover politics?
Q. No, I’m a sports journalist.
Victoria Azarenka: And I’m an athlete. You ask me about things that maybe someone says are within my control, but I don’t believe it.
I don’t know what you want me to answer. If it’s a provocative question, you can tell the story however you want.
A statement from Tennis Australia on Thursday afternoon addressed the incident outside Rod Laver Arena.
“A small group of people waved inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards after a game Wednesday night and were ejected. A patron is now helping police with unrelated matters,” it reads.
“Players and their teams have been informed and reminded of the event policy regarding flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that could disrupt the event. We continue to work closely with the security agencies of the events and law enforcement.