Djokovic advances to round-3 at Roland Garros after stirring Kosovo controversy

Djokovic has advanced to round-4 at Roland Garros after stirring the Kosovo controversy!

Novak Djokovic had a comfortable win against Marton Fucsovics before accelerating to an ultimately comfortable 7-6(2), 6-0, 6-3 second-round victory on Wednesday at Roland Garros.

Djokovic has now reached the 3rd round of the French Open for 18 consecutive years!

The two-time French Open champion is to meet Davidovich Fokina in the third round on Friday.

The Serbian tennis star also defended his writing “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence” on a camera following his first-round win at the French Open.

Kosovo’s top Olympic body has asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open disciplinary proceedings against Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic over his public statements on clashes in the country.

It all started on Monday after confrontations began between ethnic Albanians and Serbs, Djokovic wrote a message on camera “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence”, following his victory in the opening round of Roland Garros.

Serbian Novak Djokovic has defended writing “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence” on a camera following his first round win at the French Open.https://t.co/aLg7sRbych pic.twitter.com/eVQMUuze96

— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) May 31, 2023

 

A Kosovo Olympic Committee (KOC) spokesman told AFP on Wednesday that Djokovic was “stirring up” political tensions.

Djokovic “breached the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter regarding political neutrality and involved yet another political statement in sports”, the KOC wrote in a letter sent to the IOC on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the governing body of the sport, in a statement said they had received a request from the Kosovo Tennis Federation that Djokovic be sanctioned.

However, they pointed out that “political statements” are not banned at Grand Slam events.