The Serbian tennis player assures that he will prioritize not getting vaccinated even if it costs him titles
“Are you willing not to play Roland Garros if it is mandatory to be vaccinated?” Asked the interviewer. “Yes,” Novak Djokovic replied. And Wimbledon? “The same,” assured the Serbian. Novak Djokovic made it clear in an interview with the British network BBC that his priority is not titles, glory or being the best in history. Above all are his principles. He will not be vaccinated and if that means any problem for him to play the biggest tournaments in the world, he will accept it.
“It’s a price I’m willing to pay,” he said in his first public appearance since being deported from Australia before the start of the season’s first Grand Slam.
«My principles of decision on my own body are much more important than any title. I try to be in tune with my body as much as I can, ”added Djokovic, who is already behind Rafael Nadal in the race for the most Grand Slams in history, with 20 wounded by the 21 of the Balearic Islands.
It is not an anti-vaccine
“I have never been against vaccination. I understand that on a global level, everyone is trying to make an effort to manage this virus situation. And I hope that soon we will see an end to all this. Vaccination has surely been the greatest effort that has been made. Half the planet is vaccinated.
«I respect that, but I have always defended and supported the freedom of each one of what you put in your body. Essential to me is the principle of deciding what is good and what is bad for you. I am an elite athlete and I always carefully review everything that has to do with food, supplements, drinks… », added the Serbian, who added that, based on the information he has today, he has decided not to be vaccinated .
«I have always defended and supported the freedom of each one of what you put in your body»
His opposition to the vaccine, in principle, will not cause him problems to play at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, since both France and the United Kingdom allow the entry of unvaccinated, as long as the protocol tests are carried out. Thus, Djokovic could defend both titles and definitively separate himself from Roger Federer and hunt down Nadal. His main problem is in the United States and the tournaments that are played there. If the American country does not change its border criteria, Djokovic could not play the US Open in September, nor the Masters 1,000 in Miami and Indian Wells in March, as well as Cincinnati in August.
The Masters 1,000 should not be a real impediment for Djokovic, who, although he could lose control of the title count (he has 37 to Nadal’s 36), has his focus solely on the Grand Slams. Nor is losing number one something that seems to matter too much to him and he was able to do it last week. Only Daniil Medvedev’s decision to skip the Rotterdam tournament prevented Djokovic’s weeks-long streak from being broken. Right now he has 360 weeks at the top, 50 more than Federer and 151 more than Nadal. No one could hunt him down for years to come.
understand the criticism
In the interview with the BBC, Djokovic was also questioned about the positive for covid on December 16, which, in principle, gave him the green light to enter Australia. This contagion was questioned weeks later due to the activities carried out by the tennis player the following days, attending events and an interview despite being positive.
“I understand that there has been a lot of criticism and I understand that people have talked about theories of how lucky I was and how convenient the positive was. But no one is lucky to catch covid. Many people are suffering with the virus and I take it very seriously. I don’t like people thinking I used this to my advantage to test positive so I could go to Australia.”
