Wimbledon 2022: After “spanking” Kokkinakis, Djokovic criticizes the COVID-19 immunization requirements.
Wimbledon 2022: After “spanking” Kokkinakis, Djokovic criticizes the COVID-19 immunization requirements. After smashing Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round and the Australian admitting he received a “spanking,” Wimbledon favorite Novak Djokovic criticized the COVID-19 vaccine requirements put in place for the US Open.
The No. 1 seed eliminated Kokkinakis 6-1 6-4 6-2 in just over two hours to advance to the third round and face compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, who is ranked 25th.
Before defeating Kokkinakis, an unvaccinated Djokovic criticized the vaccination requirements that will prevent him from competing at the US Open in August, claiming that there were unfair comparisons to fellow athlete Tennys Sandgren, who is still permitted to compete despite his lack of vaccination.
According to Djokovic, who was quoted by Tennis Majors, ‘No unvaccinated persons can enter the USA as of this moment.’
‘I did hear informally that some people, those who are not ‘famous,’ got away with it, but I would never even dare to travel to the USA if it is prohibited.’
‘The bottom line is that if I’m told I can’t go, I won’t go, and I would never put myself in that situation. Even if I got in, they would pick me up after seeing me play tennis on television. On a more serious note, Tennys Sandgren and I have been texting recently. I wanted to express my gratitude to him for publicly endorsing me in this circumstance.’
‘What he said made perfect logic — everyone should be prohibited from competing if unvaccinated players are not allowed to do so at the US Open. I fail to understand the medical justification for Tenny’s ability to play while I am unable to do so because he is an American citizen. I could participate if I possessed a US passport or green card.’
‘You may understand why I would prefer not to address the possibility that it has political rather than medical justification.’
Due to his unvaccinated status before the commencement of the competition, Djokovic was forced to leave the country and was unable to compete at the Australian Open in 2022.
The Australian conceded that the world No. 3 was superior after Djokovic’s convincing victory over Kokkinakis. One-way traffic was present. After the game, he commented, ‘I was sliced today. I’m going to get cut even more the next time if that’s not his top intensity.’
Kokkinakis also commented, ‘Thanks for the spanking buddy,’ on an Instagram story that included a photo of him shaking hands with Djokovic.