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Novak Djokovic’s recent US Open 2023 win says a lot about his principles and ideologies by which he stood by.
Djokovic’s refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine prevented him from participating in major tournaments in 2022 and 2023 (Miami Open and Indian Wells).
The saga of Djokovic and Covid-19 policy started in January 2022, when he was deported by the Australian government from the Australian Open.
Appearing in an interview on BBC in February 2022, Djokovic laid out the reason why he was not prepared to take the Covid-19 shot at that time.
“I’ve always represented and supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body”
When presssed further on whether he was willling to forgo the chance to be the Greatest Player and pay the price of missing out on French Open and Wimbledon in 2022, Djokovic responded:
“The principle of decision making on my body are more important than any title.”
True to his words, Djokovic did not play in the BNP Paribas Open, Miami Open and US Open in 2022, because of the Covid-19 policy.
However, he was allowed to play the French Open and Wimbledon after removal of vaccine mandates in 2022.
With mandates getting more relaxed, Djokovic won the Australian Open 2023 after his deportation the previous year.
But the icing on the cake for Djokovic would probably be the match point in the US Open 2023 with “Moderna Shot of the Day“.
The very vaccines that Djokovic went up against, and the vaccine policies that barred him from playing major tournaments awarded “Unvaccinated” Novak Djokovic with the “Moderna Shot of the Day” and also sponsored by Moderna.
Ah! The Irony!
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