Novak Djokovic Apprises His Goal Amid His Vaccination Stand Controversy

After crashing out in the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 Dubai Open, Novak said that he hopes to come back and compete very soon. However, his firm stand on not getting vaccinated may create some issues in his participation in the tour events in the coming months.

On Thursday, 24th February, Novak Djokovic crashed out of the ATP 500 Dubai Open in the quarter-finals. Qualifier Jiri Vesely defeated World No.1 in straight sets. This loss wasn’t an ordinary loss for the Serbian as it resulted in him handing over the top rank to Daniil Medvedev.

Post-match, Djokovic opened up on his future goals. In addition to that, he also put forward his thoughts on how age acts as a barrier in one’s career.

The future goals of Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia citing his vaccination status. However, even after a long tale of problems in Australia, the Serb recently stood firm on his decision to not get vaccinated. What’s more? He further claimed that he is ready to pay the price of letting go of tournaments and trophies for this.

After being deported from Australia, Djokovic played his first match of the 2022 season in Dubai. The Serbian national entered the tournament as the top seed and went cruising till the quarter-finals.

Keeping in mind his vaccination stand, Djokovic was questioned about his future goals post the match. Replying to the question, Djokovic claimed that his ultimate goal is to keep playing tennis. Adding on to that, he re-emphasized the fact that till all odds are in his favor, he would keep playing tennis.

“My goal is to keep on playing tennis. That’s the ultimate goal. For as long as I really feel like it, to be honest, and as long as I can play, as long as my body allows me, as long as the circumstances in my life as well, the people that surrounds me support me. If all is in favor of me playing professional tennis and competing, I’ll keep on doing that.”

That wasn’t it for the 5-time Dubai champion. He further went on to talk about how even at 34, his age has never been a barrier for him. He said, “I don’t look at the age really as a restricting factor for my career. I still feel great in terms of my body and the way it’s holding on, the way it’s recovering. It’s been serving me well, so to say. That’s something that obviously encourages me to keep going.”

Djokovic in Dubai

After a long tale of vaccination saga, Novak Djokovic finally started his new season in Dubai. The then World No.1 was the top seed in the tournament. Eyeing his 6th title on the hard courts of Dubai, Novak opened his Dubai campaign against Italian wildcard entrant Lorenzo Musetti. The Serbian took just 1 hour 14 minutes to beat the Italian 6-3,6-3. 

Also read- ‘They Humiliated Me’ – Novak Djokovic Specifies How He Acted Like a True Athlete Amidst Intense Criticism

He next faced Russian Karen Khachanov. This was their 6th career meet. However, just like the previous matches, the result was no different this time. Djokovic sailed through Khachanov in straight sets, taking his head-to-head tally to 5-1 against the Russian.

Confident of his game, Djokovic was set to play Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals. The two had met once before in their career, with Jiri leading the head to head 1-0. Even though Djokovic played some high-quality tennis in the previous rounds, it was Vesley who once again won hit the bull’s eye, as he went on to beat the top-seeded Djokovic in straight sets. Vesley now leads 2-0 in the head-to-head race.

Watch this story- The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis