21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic defeated Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 with relative ease in the night session today, but in the hours leading up to the encounter his family was caught up in a controversial incident tournament involved. On Wednesday, Djokovic's father Srdjan was seen on video posing with a group of fans holding Russian flags and chanting pro-Russian slogans. Although such actions were banned after an incident involving a Ukrainian player in the first round of the tournament.

Djokovic speaks out

On Friday morning, Srdjan issued a statement confirming the incident was unintentional and his family does not support wars based on their own experiences. His absence from today's semifinals left the tennis star concerned. "It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of yesterday's events has escalated to such an extent, Djokovic told reporters. “Of course it (note: the video) also reached me. I wasn't aware of this until last night. Then of course I wasn't pleased to see that. My father, my whole family and I experienced several wars in the 1990s. As my father said in a statement, we are against war, we will never support any violence or war. We know how devastating this is for the family, for the people of any country going through war."

final on Sunday

Djokovic hopes his father will be present for his showdown against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open on Sunday. Djokovic's tenth title seems almost certain given his excellent form. In the event of a win, the Serb would return to world No. 1 and equal Rafael Nadal's record for most Grand Slam titles won (22).