Willing to lose more tennis tournaments if forced to get vaccinated, says Novak Djokovic. The Serbian tennis player spoke to the BBC breaking his silence for the first time after being banned from the Australian Open and deported from Melbourne because he had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
«I was never against vaccination, but I always advocated the freedom to choose what to put on your body“, Stressed the Serbian tennis player, while when asked if he would sacrifice his participation in Grand Slams such as Wimbledon and the French Open for his stance on the vaccine, he answered categorically. «Yes, that’s the price I’m willing to pay».
Explaining his stance, he said: “The principle of deciding what to do with my body is more important than anything else. I have always been a fan of good life, health and proper nutrition. This has to do with the positive effect that the diet I follow and the way I sleep have on me.».
However, he did not rule out being vaccinated. «I have an open mind, because we are all trying to find a solution collectively, in order to put an end to the coronavirus. I was never against vaccination. I understand that everyone in the world is making a great effort to manage this situation and I hope that we will get rid of it soon.“, he said.
Responding to allegations that he had deliberately contracted the coronavirus in December so he could compete in the Australian Open (although he was not allowed to), the 20-time Grand Slam winner said: “I understand that there is a lot of criticism and I understand people who have a lot of theories about how lucky I was or how convenient it was to get stuck in December. But no one is lucky when a coronavirus gets stuck. Millions of people are still suffering, so I take it very seriously. I do not like that some people think that I acted in order to get a positive PCR and go to Australia».
Commenting on the ban on him taking part in the Melbourne Grand Slam, he commented: “I was disappointed with the way it ended for me. It was not easy. People think I was deported from Australia because I was not vaccinated or because I made a mistake in applying for a visa. But all this was approved by the federal court of Australia and the competent ministry. I was deported because the Minister of Immigration used his power to cancel my visa on the grounds that I might be creating an anti-vaccination movement in the country, something with which I strongly disagree.».
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