'Don't Know What He Will Choose': Novak Djokovic's Ex-Coach Casts Doubts on Serbian Star's Future
16:35 GMT 24.01.2022 (Updated: 11:44 GMT 10.12.2022)
© AFP 2023 / MARTIN KEEP
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Last year, pundits had predicted that Novak Djokovic would complete a Calendar Golden Slam, becoming the first man to do so. While their prediction didn't come true, the Serbian still managed to join his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at 20 majors and was on course to claim his 21st. But now there are doubts about his future altogether.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic's career is up in the air after his recent Australian saga, according to his former coach and three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker.
Djokovic, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion flew to the island nation after receiving a medical exemption to compete in the Grand Slam tournament.
However, following a prolonged battle with the nation's authorities, which included two court hearings, he eventually had to leave the country after a three-judge panel announced his deportation.
Becker, who called Djokovic the "most famous anti-vaxxer", believes that the 34-year-old tennis superstar will be weighing his future, considering that rules for unvaccinated athletes are getting tougher with each passing day.
"Without revisiting the old arguments, he will be weighing up the fact that it is becoming much more difficult for unvaccinated people to go about their daily lives, let alone play international tennis tournaments. Genuinely, I don't know what he will choose", Becker wrote in his column for the British newspaper the Daily Mail.
Becker joined Djokovic's coaching team in 2013 and guided him to multiple Grand Slam titles, including his maiden French Open crown in 2016, besides titles at all the other three Grand Slams in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States.
As the German legend has worked closely with Djokovic, he knows how tough it is to convince him to get jabbed.
Despite his former ward's reservations on the subject of COVID-19 vaccines, he has called the top-ranked men's tennis player in the world to receive his first dose as it would make his life far easier besides giving his career a new lease of life.
"Let's see what Novak does. The way out, the easiest thing for him, would be to get vaccinated. It's tough to get your head around it, how much paperwork you have to do to play a tennis tournament", Becker added.
He said it's tough enough to win a tennis tournament. "Now his struggle is to get the right documents in order to participate in one. It's crazy the world we live in, but that is the way it is".
Djokovic, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion flew to the island nation after receiving a medical exemption to compete in the Grand Slam tournament.
However, following a prolonged battle with the nation's authorities, which included two court hearings, he eventually had to leave the country after a three-judge panel announced his deportation.
Becker, who called Djokovic the "most famous anti-vaxxer", believes that the 34-year-old tennis superstar will be weighing his future, considering that rules for unvaccinated athletes are getting tougher with each passing day.
"Without revisiting the old arguments, he will be weighing up the fact that it is becoming much more difficult for unvaccinated people to go about their daily lives, let alone play international tennis tournaments. Genuinely, I don't know what he will choose", Becker wrote in his column for the British newspaper the Daily Mail.
Becker joined Djokovic's coaching team in 2013 and guided him to multiple Grand Slam titles, including his maiden French Open crown in 2016, besides titles at all the other three Grand Slams in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States.
As the German legend has worked closely with Djokovic, he knows how tough it is to convince him to get jabbed.
Despite his former ward's reservations on the subject of COVID-19 vaccines, he has called the top-ranked men's tennis player in the world to receive his first dose as it would make his life far easier besides giving his career a new lease of life.
"Let's see what Novak does. The way out, the easiest thing for him, would be to get vaccinated. It's tough to get your head around it, how much paperwork you have to do to play a tennis tournament", Becker added.
He said it's tough enough to win a tennis tournament. "Now his struggle is to get the right documents in order to participate in one. It's crazy the world we live in, but that is the way it is".
"I think we have all had two years to accept it, and there is no other choice", the 54-year-old former World No. 1 concluded.
