Serbian Srdjan Djokovic, father of the world’s number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, has warned that your child may not play the Australian Open, scheduled for January, since he does not want to reveal if he has been vaccinated against covid.
“He would like to (play in Australia) with all his heart, because he is a sportsman. We would also like him. But under these blackmails and conditions it possibly will not“the tennis player’s father told Serbian television Prva TV.
“I would not do it. And he is my son, because the conclusion can be deduced“, he indicated in the interview released on Sunday.
Tennis players are required to have a vaccination certificate to participate in the Australian Open, as recently confirmed by Craig Tiley, tournament director.
Tiley said that the authorities of the state of Victoria, where the competition is held, announced the mandatory nature of the vaccine and this was communicated to the players.
Djokovic, the reigning Grand Slam champion who has won nine times, has so far declined to reveal whether or not he has been vaccinated against the coronavirus and has made it clear that he does not want to disclose the status of his eventual immunization.
The Serbian player’s father defended what he considers the right of “everyone”, and therefore of his son, to decide whether to vaccinate or not, and to maintain the privacy of decisions that affect his health.
At the same time, he assured that he himself does not know if his son has been vaccinated or not.
“It is your exclusive right. If he will say it in public, I don’t know, I don’t think so. And even if I knew his decision, I would not share it. Because he has the right to decide how he wants, “he insisted.
On a possibility, already theoretical, of quarantine of 14 days in Australia as a condition to participate in the tournament, he stated that it is too hard to spend that time “in the hotel room without being able to leave”, since then it is not possible to play at a good level.
If he wins at the next Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, Djokovic could beat Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Swiss Roger Federer with 21 titles.
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