Furore over father 'got to me', says Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic admitted the furore over his father being filmed with supporters of Vladimir Putin affected him ahead of his Australian Open semi-final victory against Tommy Paul.

The Serbian will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday in his 33rd grand slam final bidding to equal Rafael Nadal's record tally of 22 titles, while the winner will overtake Carlos Alcaraz as world number one.

His 7-5 6-1 6-2 victory over American Paul looks straightforward on the scoreboard but it certainly did not feel that way when Djokovic lost four games in a row from 5-1 up in the opening set.

Srdjan Djokovic released a statement on Friday saying he had been unwittingly caught up in the pro-Russia demonstration as he took pictures with his son's fans and had decided not to attend the match to ensure there was "no disruption".

Djokovic Sr was included as part of a YouTube video released by a Russian activist. The subtitles on the video stated Srdjan Djokovic had made a pro-Russia comment, but Serbian media translated it simply as him bidding the men farewell.

Speaking at a press conference, Djokovic said: "It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened has escalated to such a high level. There was a lot of conversations with the tournament director, with media and everyone else.

"It has got to me, of course, as well. I was not aware of it until last night. Then, of course, I was not pleased to see that.

"My father, my whole family, and myself, have been through several wars during the 90s. As my father put in a statement, we are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war. We know how devastating that is for the family, for people in any country that is going through the war.

"The photo that he made, he was passing