Anti-vax Djokovic has ‘extra’ motivation to win Wimbledon after US Open ban

World number three Novak Djokovic on Saturday said that he had extra motivation to claim a fourth successive Wimbledon title after his anti-vaccination stance saw him being disqualified from the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year.

The 35-year-old Serb, who had earlier missed the Australian Open after being deported for not being vaccinated against COVID-19, reiterated his anti-vaccination stance on Saturday and admitted that it would rule him out of the US Open.

Asked by reporters whether he was completely opposed to vaccination, Djokovic replied with an unequivocal, “Yes,” before explaining its ramifications.

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“I would love to go to States. But as of today, that’s not possible. There is not much I can do any more,” the 20-time Grand Slam winner told reporters.

“As of today I’m not allowed to enter the States under these circumstances. That is an extra motivation to do well here [at Wimbledon]. Hopefully I can have a very good tournament,” Djokovic added.

Having already won Wimbledon six times in total, including three wins in the last three years, Djokovic is the favourite to win the tournament.

If he manages to do so, it would make him the only player in the Open era to win four successive Wimbledon trophies, a feat achieved only by Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer.

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Joining the likes of Sampras would be a special, special achievement for Djokovic: “Pete Sampras, winning his first Wimbledon, was the first tennis match I ever saw on the TV. So, of course, there’s a lot of connection to this tournament. Pete has won it seven times. Hopefully, yeah, I can do the same this year,” the Serb told reporters.

Djokovic first faces South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo on Tuesday in the First Round of this year’s Wimbledon.