Not “antivax” but… ready to do anything to avoid the vaccine. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Novak Djokovic says he is ready to miss competitions such as Wimbledon because of his refusal of the injection. “Yes, that’s the price I’m willing to pay,” says the No.1 in world tennis.
After his expulsion from Australia and since his return to Serbia on January 17, “Nole” had remained very discreet. “I have never been once morest vaccination”, he assured in this interview on British television, confirming that he had received vaccines as a child, “but I have always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body”.
Novak Djokovic, was expelled from Australia before the start of the Major of which he held the title. After initially obtaining a waiver to come to Australia, thanks to tests certifying that he had contracted Covid-19 a month before the tournament, the Serb was finally expelled following ten days of judicial saga by the Australian government, just before the start of the tournament.
The Australian government justified its decision by the “health risk” that the 34-year-old player, not vaccinated once morest Covid-19, might represent. The Serbian prosecutor’s office announced earlier this month that the PCR test results presented by Djokovic in order to obtain a waiver, the authenticity of which some media have disputed, were “valid”.
Registered for the Dubai tournament
The Australian Open, where he aspired to win his 21st Grand Slam title, was won by Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who seized the record for Major titles by winning his 21st Major title, ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer who have twenty each.
What regarding his future? Djoko hopes the vaccination requirements in some tournaments will change “because the principles of decision-making regarding my body are more important than any title or anything else. I try to be in tune with my body as much as possible”, adding that he hoped “to be able to play for many more years”.
The world No.1 is in any case registered for the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, scheduled for the last week of February. Vaccination is not compulsory for entry into the United Arab Emirates, where 100% of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. On the other hand, he risks having to ignore the Monte-Carlo tournament. “If Djokovic is in good standing with the sanitary conditions required by the (French) government, we will be delighted to welcome him”, announced Zeljko Franulovic, director of the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 Tennis Tournament, scheduled for 9 to April 17.