Djokovic draws criticism from Kosovo tennis federation for comments at French Open
Novak Djokovic has drawn criticism from Kosovo’s tennis federation — but not from French Open organizers — after offering his thoughts on clashes in northern Kosovo between ethnic Serbs and police and NATO peacekeepers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Novak Djokovic has drawn criticism from Kosovo’s tennis federation — but not from French Open organizers — after offering his thoughts on clashes in northern Kosovo between ethnic Serbs and police and NATO peacekeepers.
Djokovic is a 36-year-old from Serbia who has won 22 Grand Slam titles and is scheduled to play in the second round at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
After a first-round victory on Monday, Djokovic wrote in Serbian on the lens of a courtside TV camera: “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence.”
Kosovo’s tennis federation said Tuesday that Djokovic’s comments were “deplorable” because he was stoking tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.
A former province of Serbia, Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence is not recognized by Belgrade. Ethnic Albanians make up most of the population, but Kosovo has a restive Serb minority in the north of the country bordering Serbia.
NATO said Tuesday it will send 700 more troops to northern Kosovo to help quell violent protests after clashes with ethnic Serbs left 30 international soldiers wounded. Tensions first increased over the weekend, after ethnic Albanian officials elected in votes overwhelmingly boycotted by Serbs entered municipal buildings. When the Serbs tried to block them, Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Speaking to reporters in Serbian, Djokovic said Monday that he thought what he wrote on the TV camera was “the least I could do.
“I feel responsibility as a public figure ... as well as a son of a man who was born in Kosovo,” Djokovic said.
Without mentioning Djokovic by name, French Open organizers indicated in a statement issued Tuesday that no rules had been broken: “Occasionally, discussions about international news events enter the realm of the tournament, which is understandable.”
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports