Melbourne, May 7 (ANI): Damir Dokic, the father of Australian tennis ace Jelena Dokic, has admitted to hitting his daughter, and defended his aggression, saying that it was “for her sake.”

“If I was ever a little bit more aggressive towards Jelena, it was for her sake,” Dokic told the Serbian newspaper Vecernje Novosti.

In the latest Sport and Style magazine, published in The Age this week, the tennis star spoke in detail about the trauma her father caused and how she fled her family home in October 2002.

“When I was young, I was beaten by my parents,” Dokic said, “and I am now thankful to them for that, because that helped me to become the right person. Anyway, is there any parent who didn’t do that at least once or twice – of course, for the sake of their children?”

He added: “When she was with me, she was on the right track. When she was 19, she earned 6-7 million dollars, and was on the (World Tennis Challenge) list and drank tea with the Australian Prime Minister.”

Dokic, upset at the extent of his daughter’s revelations, has been arrested after police found two illegal “bombs” from his home today.

Damir Dokic was arrested after he threatened to blow up the Australian Embassy in Belgrade, government officials have said.

He told the Serbian newspaper Blic he would “fire a rocket” on the car of the Australian ambassador to Serbia if she did not retract the comments. (ANI)