Roland Garros: Politics keeps pace with tennis at Roland Garros | Tennis News – Times of India
PARIS: Tennis and politics have kept pace at the French Open this week. Albeit on parallel tracks. Ask the Ukrainians. The Russian and Belarusian players. Ask Novak Djokovic.
Playing tennis and talking politics at Roland Garros is fast be -coming standard practice. There have been questions – intrusive, argumentative even – and there have been statements.
Aryna Sabalenka, the strikingly imposing Belarusian, was put in a spot following her second-round win on Wednesday.
In the post-match interaction, the 25-year-old was asked: “You signed a letter to support Lukashenko, when he was torturing Protestants.
How is it possible that the potential No. 1 supports a dictator?”
“I have no comments to you,” she returned.
The reporter persisted, “you say nobody supports war, but can you speak for yourself and say: ‘I, Aryna Sabalenka, flatly condemn the fact that Belarus is attacking Ukraine with missiles, and I want it to stop? Sabalenka refused to budge from her ‘no comments’ stand.
The reporter, however, had her answer.
“You basically support everything because you cannot speak up?” Novak Djokovic opened his account in more ways than one earlier in the week, following his first-round win.
‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence,” he wrote on the camera lens on Monday as he exited the court.
The same day NATO peacekeeping troops were reported to be hurt in clashes with Serb protesters in the Kosovo town of Zvecan – where Djokovic’s father grew up.
While Djokovic’s statement didn’t flout the Grand Slam rulebook, it rattled doors in political corridors. Djokovic stood by his statement.
“I don’t mind saying that. I would say it again, but I don’t need to because you have my quotes if you want to reflect on that.”
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Playing tennis and talking politics at Roland Garros is fast be -coming standard practice. There have been questions – intrusive, argumentative even – and there have been statements.
Aryna Sabalenka, the strikingly imposing Belarusian, was put in a spot following her second-round win on Wednesday.
In the post-match interaction, the 25-year-old was asked: “You signed a letter to support Lukashenko, when he was torturing Protestants.
How is it possible that the potential No. 1 supports a dictator?”
“I have no comments to you,” she returned.
The reporter persisted, “you say nobody supports war, but can you speak for yourself and say: ‘I, Aryna Sabalenka, flatly condemn the fact that Belarus is attacking Ukraine with missiles, and I want it to stop? Sabalenka refused to budge from her ‘no comments’ stand.
The reporter, however, had her answer.
“You basically support everything because you cannot speak up?” Novak Djokovic opened his account in more ways than one earlier in the week, following his first-round win.
‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence,” he wrote on the camera lens on Monday as he exited the court.
The same day NATO peacekeeping troops were reported to be hurt in clashes with Serb protesters in the Kosovo town of Zvecan – where Djokovic’s father grew up.
While Djokovic’s statement didn’t flout the Grand Slam rulebook, it rattled doors in political corridors. Djokovic stood by his statement.
“I don’t mind saying that. I would say it again, but I don’t need to because you have my quotes if you want to reflect on that.”
Elina Svitolina, the comeback mom, who hasn’t missed an opportunity to turn international attention to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, backed Djokovic.
“We’re living in a free world, why not say your opinion,” the 28-year-old said, adding, “For me it’s just part of human life, politics, sports.’
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