From The Herald Sun: Jankovic plea to end violence
JELENA Jankovic yesterday pleaded with her Melbourne fans of Serbian heritage to steer clear of violence and cease booing her opponents after crowd unrest again marred the Australian tennis summer.
Jankovic, the in-form Serbian, was appalled by the ejection of 150 Serbian and Croatian supporters from Melbourne Park by police for fighting near a backcourt...
Her rise to a world ranking of No. 11 has made her a lightning rod for Serbian national pride when she plays in Melbourne. In Sydney last week her supporters booed her opponent Kim Clijsters repeatedly during the Belgian's three-set final win.
"I don't like when they are fighting against each other and kind of booing the other player just because they are from some other country. I think that's not fair," Jankovic said...
"I think just here in Melbourne that there is this kind of problem. I don't know what it is. Anywhere else in the world it's fine when you play a Croatian girl or there's matches (between players who are) Serbian and Croatian." ...
Jankovic refused to criticise the unsporting behaviour of her fans towards Clijsters last Friday, saying the atmosphere was one of the best she had encountered.
But with the violence of Melbourne much more serious, Jankovic decided to use her influence to try to calm tensions at Melbourne Park.
Comments