Novak Djokovic “doesn’t regret” missing American tournaments because of his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid

“I have no regrets.Dethroned from his place as world number one by Carlos Alcaraz on Monday March 20, Novak Djokovic does not intend to reverse his decision not to be vaccinated against Covid-19, as he argued in an interview exclusive granted to CNN, Tuesday, March 21. As a reminder, the Serbian tennis player was forced to give up the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments in March, not being authorized to travel to the United States in the absence of this vaccination.

This position world number one – which the 35-year-old has captured for more weeks than any other player in history – is now occupied by the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the Indian Wells tournament on Sunday.

“I’ve learned in my life that regrets only hold you back and make you live in the past, which I don’t want to do. (…) So my congratulations to Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to come back to the first place”, said Novak Djokovic on the American channel. The Serb confirmed that “the decision he made was well thought out”aware however that there was “a possibility that he won’t go (Indian Wells and Miami).”

The three Grand Slams in the viewfinder

Winner of the tenth Australian Open of his career at the end of January, Novak Djokovic insisted that “Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open are the three biggest priorities this year”. The record holder of Grand Slams won (22), tied with Rafael Nadal, is waiting to know if he can participate in entering the United States or not, like last year. “I don’t know if I will be allowed to participate in the US Openhe slipped. Whether I am allowed to play or not obviously depends on the decisions of the highest levels of government.”

Despite the controversies which the “Djoker” has been the subject of, his motivation remains the same: “On the contrary, I’m more motivated than ever, for sport, for my family, for my foundation, for all the projects and everything I do off the pitch… I don’t want to regret anything, I don’t want to think to the negative circumstances that arise in my life because there will be many more. It’s normal, it’s life, and it’s in times of adversity that we grow the most.”