Djokovic: I will sacrifice trophies if told to get vaccinated

The collective obsession of the Serbian people - for Novak Djokovic to win more Grand Slams than Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and thus definitely enter the history books as the best in the history of tennis - could remain unfulfilled. Because, as Djokovic himself says in an exclusive interview with the BBC, the first after he was not allowed to play at the Australian Open in Melbourne, he is ready to miss Roland Garros and Wimbledon if the condition for participating in those tournaments is to be vaccinated.

"Yes, that is the price I am willing to pay," Djokovic told BBC.

The first racket of the world also categorically denied that he is anti-vax, but that his own body is more important than the 21st or any other Grand Slam trophy.

"I have never been against vaccination. But I've always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body", said Djokovic, adding that as a child he got all the obligatory vaccines in Serbia.

Now, however, the situation is somewhat different and Novak is not ready to be immunized against Covid-19. At least not yet. Even if that means that he will leave the record to Nadal, who now has 21 Grand Slam titles, compared to Djokovic's and Federer's 20. Why?

"Because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I'm trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can" Novak pointed out, reminding that he has always been an excellent student when it comes to a healthy diet and health, and that he recorded the greatest results when he changed his diet and sleeping habits.

Djokovic still expressed hope that he will be able to play for a few more years, but with the remark that the precondition for that is to loosen the security regulations at the biggest tournaments. Although, he himself says that he keeps his "mind open" when it comes to the possibility of getting vaccinated himself.

"We are all trying to find collectively, a best possible solution to end Covid. I was never against vaccination. I understand that globally, everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus and seeing, hopefully, an end soon to this virus."

The greatest Serbian athlete also responded to suspicions that he somehow timed a fake positive Covid test to get a medical exemption for Australia.

"I understand that there is a lot of criticism, and I understand that people come out with different theories on how lucky I was or how convenient it is." he acknowledged.

"But no-one is lucky and convenient of getting Covid. Millions of people have and are still struggling with Covid around the world. So I take this very seriously, I really don't like someone thinking I've misused something or in my own favour, in order to, you know, get a positive PCR test and eventually go to Australia."

Finally, he reminds that he did not have to leave Australia due to some suspicious or dishonest actions, or even mistakes when filling out the visa form.

"People probably don't know is that I was not deported from Australia on the basis that I was not vaccinated, or I broke any rules or that I made an error in my visa declaration. All of that was actually approved and validated by the Federal Court of Australia and the Minister for Immigration."

"The reason why I was deported from Australia was because the Minister for Immigration used his discretion to cancel my visa based on his perception that I might create some anti-vax sentiment in the country or in the city, which I completely disagree with.", Djokovic pointed out.

The entire interview with journalist Amol Rajan will be broadcast tonight at 10.30 PM Central African Time.