Novak Djokovic has asserted that he is willing to give up more titles. This includes the trophies at Wimbledon and the French Open. If tournament organizers demand that he must get a COVID-19 jab to compete he may opt-out.
Djokovic was questioned if he would sacrifice competing in tournaments like Wimbledon and the French Open because of his stance on the vaccine.
He answered, “Yes, that is the price I am willing to pay.”
Last month, the 20-time Grand Slam winner had to depart Australia after his visa cancelation. It was due to a dispute regarding his vaccination status.
Djokovic is the world’s number one men’s tennis player. He announced he had obtained a medical exemption to enter the nation to compete in the Australian Open because he had recently recovered from COVID-19. However, the country’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, revoked the 34-year-visa old’s on the spot. He thought that Djokovic’s presence could provoke “civil unrest” and promote anti-vaccine sentiment.
“Never against vaccination”
“I was never against vaccination,” he told the BBC. Thus, ensuring that he’d had vaccines as a child”. “But I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”
Djokovic communicated concerns about the timing of his positive COVID-19 case in December. He analyzed his attitude toward the vaccine in a wide-ranging interview. This was his first interview since getting detention in Melbourne in January.
Djokovic expressed his hope that vaccine requirements in some tournaments would settle. Also, he would be able to “play for many more years.”
He did, however, clarify that he was willing to forfeit the potential to become the greatest male tennis player of all time due to his intense feelings. Rafael Nadal, Djokovic’s main adversary, has won 21 Grand Slam trophies, the most of any competitor.
When questioned why, he replied: “Because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I’m trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can.”
“Keeping [his] mind open”
Djokovic claimed he’d “always been a great student of wellness, wellbeing, health, and nutrition”. He indicated that modifications in his eating and sleeping habits had a positive impact on his athletic performance. It thereby influenced his decision.
He said he was “keeping [his] mind open” about the possibility of being vaccinated in the future, “because we are all trying to find collectively, a best possible solution to end COVID-19”.
“I was never against vaccination. I understand that globally, everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus and seeing, hopefully, an end soon to this virus.”
Djokovic also addressed speculation about the chronology of events leading up to the Australian Open in January.
Djokovic’s positive COVID-19 case occurred in mid-December. Some speculated that it came just in time to receive a medical exemption to compete in the tournament.
“I understand that there is a lot of criticism, and I understand that people come out with different theories on how lucky I was or how convenient it is,” he acknowledged.
“But no one is lucky and convenient of getting COVID-19. Millions of people have and are still struggling with COVID-19 around the world. So I take this very seriously. I really don’t like someone thinking I’ve misused something or in my own favor, in order to, you know, get a positive PCR test and eventually go to Australia.”
Tampering tests
Novak Djokovic also went into greater detail about his time in detention last month in Melbourne.
The interviewer asked if Djokovic was aware of any attempt to tamper with the tests he performed for COVID-19. But he firmly denied it.
He also went into greater detail about his time in detention last month in Melbourne.
“I was really sad and disappointed with the way it all ended for me in Australia,” he said. “It wasn’t easy
The filing of his medical exemption happened anonymously. Two separate Australian panels approved it.
“Absolutely, the visa declaration error was not deliberately made,” Djokovic said. “It was accepted and confirmed by the Federal Court and the minister himself in the Ministry for Immigration in Australia.
“So actually, what people probably don’t know is that I was not deported from Australia on the basis that I was not vaccinated, or I broke any rules or that I made an error in my visa declaration. All of that was actually approved and validated by the Federal Court of Australia and the Minister for Immigration.
“The reason why I was deported from Australia was that the Minister for Immigration used his discretion to cancel my visa based on his perception that I might create some anti-vax sentiment in the country or in the city, which I completely disagree with.”