Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic Source: SITA / AP / Darko Vojinovic BELGRADE – The first tennis player in the world rankings, Novak Djokovic, does not agree with the ban on starting Russian and Belarusian tennis players at Wimbledon. The 34-year-old Serb called the decision of the organizers of the London Grand Slam crazy. “I will always condemn the war and I will never support it because I am a child of war myself,” Reuters quoted Djokovic, who had experienced the conflict in the former Yugoslavia as a child. “I know how the war will affect you. In Serbia, we all remember what happened in 1999,” Djokovic added. “However, I still cannot support Wimbledon’s decision, which is simply insane. When politics mixes with sport, it is bad,” he added. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the Grand Slam pic.twitter.com/zEXBEfkaPf – Eurosport (@eurosport) April 21, 2022 Wimbledon officials expelled Russian and Belarusian representatives due to invasion of Ukraine. They justified this by trying not to misuse the All England Club tournament to promote the Russian regime. In addition, they followed the vast majority of sports organizations, which after the February attack banned Russians and Belarusians from starting international events. Tennis has been an exception so far. The management of ATP and WTA, as well as a number of personalities led by the famous Martina Navrátilová, objected to the decision of the organizers. Ukrainian tennis players, on the other hand, welcomed the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians. Elina Svitolina believes Russian and Belarusian players who denounce the war in Ukraine should be allowed to take part at Wimbledon. “Eurosport” (@eurosport) “Only he wants them to come out and say they are with us and the rest of the world against the Russian government,” she said. “That’s the main thing for me. If they are against and they did not vote for such a government, then it will only be right if they play,” she added. Their attitude is shocking to me. According to twenty-seven-year-old Svitolinova, none of the Russian players has done so yet. World number two Daniil Medvedev called for peace on twitter, as did his compatriot Andrei Rublov. “I will count on the fingers of one hand how many Russian or Belarusian players came to me and asked how I was doing, how my family was doing, if she was safe,” Svitolinová said. “That’s why I’m so disappointed with their behavior. We’re colleagues who meet week after week. Their attitude is shocking to me,” she added. Author: © VIDEO list: Twitter / Eurosport Source: ČTK