There should be less criticism directed towards Novak Djokovic over his view about the COVID-19 vaccination, according to Alex Corretja.
The world world No.1 has been under fire in recent weeks over his controversial choice to not get vaccinated against the virus despite being urged to do so by tennis’ governing bodies in order to compete internationally. Djokovic missed the Australian Open after the government revoked his visa following a lengthy dispute. The tennis star entered the country on the grounds that he had recently contracted the virus which qualified him for a medical exemption. However, border officials stated that this was not a valid reason to enter the country. Resulting in two court hearings taking place within a week.
During an interview with the BBC, Djokovic says he doesn’t want to have a vaccine as he is worried about the effects it may have on his body in the long term. Even though the vaccine has been declared safe by the World Health Organization. He also confirmed that should any Grand Slam implement a rule allowing only vaccinated players to compete, he is willing to miss those events. Something which could hamper his quest to finish his career as the most decorated male player in Grand Slam history.
Djokovic’s stance has attracted criticism from some within the sport. Pam Shriver said his decision was ‘terrible for tennis’ and ‘not good for him’ during a BBC interview. Making reference to the influence the Serbian has on others with his views.
However, Corretja has jumped to Djokovic’s defence by urging others to respect his choices even if they disagree with him. The Spaniard won 17 ATP titles during his career and was twice a runner-up at the French Open.
“You might not like his behaviour sometimes on the court, you can be against that or in favour of his character or whatever,” Corretja told Eurosport.
“But we can’t forget that he’s someone very special for our sport. So just to go out there and criticise him so much, and just try to be hard on him just because he decided that he wants to have the right to choose not to get vaccinated – I think it was too much. And I think we need to show respect.”
The 47-year-old says that the most important thing for Djokovic now is to focus on what he feels and not on what others may be saying about him.
Being unvaccinated on the Tour will be problematic for the tennis star. He will play in Dubai next week as the country allows unvaccinated arrivals. However, America has stricter entry requirements and in only limited cases are unvaccinated people allowed to enter the country. Should Djokovic not be able to enter America, he will miss two key Masters 1000 tournaments in Miami and Indian Wells which also threatens to bring an end to his reign as world No.1.
Then there are the Grand Slams. As it currently stands, he will have no problem playing at Wimbledon but is less unclear concerning both the French Open and US Open.
“It will be shocking if he’s not going to be able to play (some Grand Slams) in the next two years because of not getting the vaccination,” Corretja commented.
“That would be devastating for our sport, and therefore sport in general.
“I hope he’s going to be able to play as many tournaments as he can. And definitely he knows that he will need to respect the rules of every country. I know he knows that and he is willing to pay that price.
“If he says ‘I’m not vaccinated, can I play?’ and they say yes, he will go. And if they say ‘you need to get vaccinated’, he will stay at home.
“I think it’d be better if he can play as many tournaments as he can. This will be nicer and we will have the number one in the world playing the tournaments, which I think is the best thing for all of us.”
According to the ATP, Djokovic is the only player in the top 100 who is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
