Novak Djokovic polarizes in the debate about corona vaccination

VA few days ago, the Masters tournament in Paris was already in full swing, Novak Djokovic once again showed his spiritual side. “A happy Diwali,” he wished the world and his followers, plus “Peace, Love and Light” on the day of the Hindu Festival of Lights. Djokovic, it is well known, is very open to everything that should unite body and mind. For a while, his tennis followers included the esoteric guru Pepe Imaz, who describes himself as a “divine being made of light and love”. However, the collaboration coincided with one of the few crises in the Serbian’s grandiose career. Accordingly, it ended quickly.

Djokovic has long since freed himself from the deep. He has been at the top of the world rankings for almost two years. And after Saturday’s semi-final victory against Hubert Hurkacz from Poland, it was already clear that he would also hold this position at the end of the year. The fact that he won the final on Sunday afternoon against his direct rival Daniil Medvedev from Russia 4: 6, 6: 3, 6: 3 was just an addition. For the seventh time he is starting the new year as number one. Another record. So far he had shared the record with the American Pete Sampras.

Anyone who saw the 34-year-old now after the transformed match point in a gripping duel with Hurkacz drummed himself on the chest like a gorilla, got the impression that things are going very well for him. The Parisian audience cheered him, he bathed with relish in the roaring noise under the hall roof.

The Australian Nick Kyrgios, who happily cultivates the role of provocative and tennis bad boy, once blasphemed unrestrainedly about Djokovic’s ongoing struggle for affection. He was “sickly obsessed with being loved” and wanted to be “like Roger (Federer)”, according to Kyrgios. “He wants to be liked so much that I can’t stand him.” But the fact that Djokovic soaked up this moment could also have another background. Because Djokovic moves, regardless of all sporting successes, once again in a particularly polarized field of tension.

The question is whether the 20-time Grand Slam champion has been vaccinated against the corona virus. After he revealed himself to be a vaccine skeptic at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, there is reason to suspect that this is not the case. He fueled these speculations by explicitly leaving it open as to whether he would defend his title at the Australian Open in early 2022. Currently, only those who can show full vaccination protection are allowed to enter Australia. In Paris, Djokovic, tired of constant inquiries, then started a tirade against the media.

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