The world’s number one ranked tennis player might also be the world’s number one ranked sook after Novak Djokovic’s father threatened his son’s withdrawal from the Australian Open due to the state’s vaccine mandate.
Srdjan Djokovic has explosively labelled the mandate as “blackmail” in an interview on Serbian TV.
“He would want it with all his heart because he’s an athlete, and we would love that, too.
“Under these blackmails and conditions, he probably won’t. I wouldn’t do that. And he’s my son, so you decide for yourself.”
Srdjan did however raise an important point about vaccine diplomacy and which specific vaccines are approved by the Australian Government.
He questioned whether the hesitancy to approve a Russian- or Chinese-made vaccine is fair, suggesting that some players don’t have access to any of the nine jabs currently approved.
But uh oh, looks like someone didn’t do their research because there are currently two approved Chinese vaccines on the Australian Government’s list: Sinovac and Sinopharm.
Regardless, it would probably be safe to assume Novak would have little difficulty finding two jabs of approved vaccine if he really put his mind to it.
The world’s top tennis athlete has been parroting the good ol’ ‘freedom to choose’ line, telling reporters in Italy that “the freedom of choice is essential to everyone, whether it’s me or somebody else.
“Doesn’t really matter whether it’s vaccination or anything else in life. You should have the freedom to choose, to decide what you want to do.”
To date, Novak has neither confirmed nor denied whether he has had the jab.
Djokovic has a history of making every public health-related issue more difficult than it needs to be, especially in Australia.
Earlier in 2021, he made six requests regarding his stay in hotel quarantine.
One of these requests was “decent food”.
He has a way with his words, doesn’t he?
How charming. Now, I’m off to eat some decent food.
