Novak Djokovic has insisted he is “not anti-vax but pro-freedom” after opening up on his Australian deportation like never before.
The 24-time grand slam champion was infamously detained upon his arrival in Melbourne in 2022 for several days as border officials investigated his Covid vaccination status, before denying him entry and deporting the Serbian before the Australian Open began.
Djokovic has spoken this week of his “scars” that remain and the memories that walking through border control at Melbourne Airport brought back, but now he has spoken openly about the beliefs that reinforced his decision not to be vaccinated – even if it meant he could not compete in Australia.
The 37-year-old, who returned the following year to win his 22nd major title in Melbourne, has claimed the decision to deport him was never because of his vaccination status but rather the politics behind letting an unvaccinated individual into the country during a period of lockdown restrictions.
“It was so political,” Djokovic told GQ. “It had nothing really to do with vaccine or Covid or anything else. It’s just political. The politicians could not stand me being there. For them, I think, it was less damage to deport me than to keep me there.
“I’m not pro-vaccine. I’m not anti-vax. I am pro-freedom to choose what is right for you and your body. So when somebody takes away my right to choose what I should be taking for my body, I don’t think that’s correct.
Djokovic is stopped by Border Force on January 5, 2022.Credit: AP
“Because I don’t feel like I needed one. I just don’t feel like I needed one. I’m a healthy individual, I take care of my body, take care of my health needs, and I’m a professional athlete. And because I’m a professional athlete, I’m extremely mindful of what I consume, and I do regular tests, blood tests, any kind of tests. I know exactly what’s going on. So I didn’t feel a need to do that. Also, what is important to state is knowing that I’m not a threat to anybody. ’Cause I wasn’t, because I had antibodies.”
Djokovic returned to the adulation of Australian fans, much to his surprise, as he charged to the title in 2023. That year he added both the French and US Open crowns, but he has not won a grand slam since as he moves into the twilight of his career.
However, Djokovic insisted he is not yet ready to call time on an unrivalled career at the top of the men’s game, even if his own father is doing his best to retire him prematurely.
He added: “My dad is trying to retire me for a while now … He’s like, ‘What else do you want to do?’ He understands the amount and the intensity of the pressure and tension that is out there, and the stress that has an effect on my health, my body, and then, consequently, on everyone else who is around me, including him. So that’s why he was like, ‘My son, start to think about how you want to end this’.
“I do think about more how than when. When I’m not thinking about it as of yet so intensely. How, how I would like to end it? I feel if I start to lose more and feel like there is a bigger gap, that I start to have more challenges in overcoming those big obstacles in big slams, then I’ll probably call it a day. But right now I’m still OK, keep continuing.”
Djokovic was speaking in the latest edition of British GQ magazine, released January 28.
Telegraph, London
