Europe 1 with AFP 2:45 p.m., February 15, 2022
Failing to be vaccinated, Novak Djokovic had been expelled from Australia in January, without being able to defend his title at the Australian Open, in Melbourne, before his great rival Rafael Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam tournament. , a record for men, because one more than "Djoko" and Roger Federer.
World number 1 Novak Djokovic is ready to miss Roland-Garros and Wimbledon for the price of his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, but he is not "anti-vax", he claimed in an interview with the BBC aired on Tuesday.
Failing to be vaccinated, Djokovic had been expelled from Australia in January, without being able to defend his title at the Australian Open, in Melbourne, before his great rival Rafael Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam tournament, a record for men, because one more than "Djoko" and Roger Federer.
The price to pay
"Yes, that's the price I'm ready to pay," said the Serb on the possibility of an absence from the Paris and London tournaments.
He does not wish to be associated with the anti-vax movement but defends the right of each individual to choose what is injected into their body.
"I have never been against vaccination," he added, indicating that he had already been vaccinated in his youth.
"But I have always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your own body. This principle is more important to me than any title."
"I try to be in tune with my body as much as possible," Djokovic also said in this interview, the first since leaving Melbourne, visa canceled by the Australian authorities.
"I was sad and disappointed," he summed up about this saga at the start of the year.
Djoko does not rule out getting vaccinated
The world number 1 also hopes that the vaccination requirements will change and that he will be able to "play for many more years".
He remains open and does not rule out the possibility of a vaccination for him in the future, "because we are all looking, collectively, for the best possible solution to put an end to Covid".