By Deepika Notani
World number one Novak Djokovic said he is “so sorry” after becoming the latest tennis player to test positive for Covid-19. Born on 22 May 1987, he is a Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 1 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
He is also the first male player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title. He is a six-time ITF World Champion and a five-time Association of Tennis Professionals year-end No. 1 ranked player. Djokovic has won numerous awards, including the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year (four times) and the 2011 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award. He is also a recipient of the Order of St. Sava, the Order of Karadorde’s Star, and the Order of the Republika Srpska. He started playing tennis at the age of 4. Djokovic is a member of the “Champions for Peace” club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.
Novak Djokovic announced on June 23rd , that he and his wife have COVID-19 after he played in a series of exhibition matches he organized in Serbia and Croatia with zero social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. ‘’Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with. I am hoping things will ease with time so we can all resume lives the way they were,’’ Djokovic said in a statement released on 23rd june. “I am extremely sorry for each individual case of infection. I hope that it will not complicate anyone’s health situation and that everyone will be fine.”
Frequently Djokovic recently was in the most talking news regarding outbreak of covid 19, which led to the suspension of the ATP and WTA professional tennis tours in March. In April, he was criticized for saying he would not want to take a vaccine for the virus in order to be able to compete, even if it were mandatory for travel. In May, when he was staying in Spain, Djokovic broke local lockdown rules by practicing at a tennis club about a week before the lockdown was relax. He tested positive, but not showing any symptoms of COVID-19, said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days.
Image Credits: Tennis.com
