Novak Djokovic has said he would be against a compulsory Coronavirus vaccination if it became a requirement for tennis players to travel to tournaments. "Personally, I'm against vaccination. I wouldn't like that someone forces me to get a vaccine in order to be able to travel," the World No. 1 said late on Sunday.

The Serbian star was speaking from Spain, where he is in lockdown with his family, in a video conference held on his Facebook for Orthodox Easter. "We [players] will have to travel. I think it will be the number one challenge," he said.

"If it [vaccination] will become compulsory what will happen? I will have to take a decision," on whether to get a vaccine or not, he said. "This is my opinion at the moment. Whether it will change I don't know."

No vaccine currently
There is currently no vaccine for the virus that has claimed some 1,65,000 lives around the globe, though labs around the world are racing to develop a treatment. Like the rest of the sporting world, tennis has been on pause since early March, with the ATP and WTA Tours suspended until mid-July at the earliest and Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II.

'No play before Sept, Oct'
Djokovic estimated tournaments would not restart "before September or October". "The season will officially restart when everyone will be 100 per cent certain that people can return, that there is no risk, that people are resistant to the virus and this takes time." Tournaments with travel limited to one country or a region could be possible, he said.

17
No. of Grand Slam singles titles won by Novak Djokovic

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Novak Djokovic has apparently broke confinement rules in Spain by going back to a tennis court. Djokovic posted a video on Instagram showing him exchanging shots with another man at a tennis club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has reportedly stayed. Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay...well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands."

Spain on Monday loosened some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing professional athletes to return to practice. But sports facilities are supposed to remain closed at least until next week in most parts of the country, with the exception of training centres for teams in professional leagues in sports such as soccer.

The Spanish tennis federation said in a statement on Monday that professional players in Spain were allowed to exercise by themselves or with a coach, but not yet on a tennis court. It said it would work on a set of guidelines to inform players and clubs about what they would be permitted to do beginning next week.
The federation's statement did not appear to be related to Djokovic's appearance on the court in Marbella.

Requests for comment made to the federation and to Djokovic's staff late on Monday were not immediately answered. It was not clear if Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open would be subjected to fines or sanctions if it was confirmed he broke the lockdown rules.

The No. 1-ranked Djokovic recently said he was against taking an anti-Coronavirus vaccination if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

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The tennis club where Novak Djokovic broke confinement rules in Spain has said it mistakenly allowed the top-ranked Serb to practice and apologized for the error. Djokovic published a video of him training on Monday in apparent violation of Spain's current rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. The video posted on Instagram showed Djokovic exchanging shots with another man at the club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has been staying for the past several weeks.

Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay .. well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands. Spain has eased some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March, allowing professional athletes to return to practice, but most training centers and sports facilities must remain closed until next week. We are sorry that our interpretation of the regulation could have been erroneous, and this could have inconvenienced Mr. Djokovic or any other citizen acting in good faith," the Puente Romano Marbella Tennis Club said in a statement.

The statement, which was relayed by Djokovic's management team, said the club received a request from the player to practice and gave him the go-ahead with the "understanding that from May 4 all professional sports players were authorized to train." The club said it therefore believed he was "permitted to train in our facilities." It said it later received a "clarification" from the Spanish tennis federation and "both parties have agreed that training should resume" only next week.

Rafael Nadal said he also went to train on a court this week, but he did it on private property because the rules weren't fully clear to him. Soccer players were among the exceptions who could start training inside sports facilities beginning this week.

Spain has been one of the countries most affected by the pandemic but it started loosening some of its restrictions on movement as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 started to go down recently. The nation went into a lockdown on March 14.

Djokovic recently said he was against taking a vaccine for the coronavirus if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

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Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has revealed that fellow tennis star and World No.1 Novak Djokovic was once fanboying on her over dinner. During an Instagram Live chat with the Serbian ace, Sharapova, who called time on her illustrious career in February, said: "I remember we played this little exhibition. I was young, you were young, way before you had any Grand Slam titles. I don't know if you'd even won a tournament at that point," said Sharapova. This part of the chat was shared by ATP Tour on their official Twitter handle.

"We're not going to start hugging trees, right?"@MariaSharapova with the one-liners for @DjokerNole today. 🤣#tennisathome pic.twitter.com/bweyZMuJ2v

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 5, 2020

"You said that if you'd win (in a mixed doubles match), I would have to pay dinner. I was like, ‘Okay, whatever, who is this kid?'" Sharapova recalled. "You won and you were like, ‘We have dinner tonight. We're going to the Japanese place!' I was like, ‘Are you serious? You and me, going to dinner, tonight?' So we did. We ended up going to dinner and it was so funny because you pulled out I think it was an old Kodak camera and you asked the waiter to take a photo of us… and here we are," she further said.

"It's actually what happened. Maria is saying the truth," Djokovic said, laughing. "I think you were fanboying," Sharapova replied. Djokovic recently said that he was "mentally empty" and "confused" at the beginning of the ongoing freeze of the tennis calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The sport has been on a full stop for over a month due to the pandemic outbreak.

Novak Djokovic

Djkovic has enjoyed a revival in form after a slump in late 2017 and most of 2018. He was set to defend his Wimbledon title this year before the grass court Grand Slam was cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.

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The younger generation lined up on Monday to defend themselves against the accusation that they are too reverential when it comes to the three dominant players in men's tennis.

MATTHEW LAMBERT AT QUEEN'S CLUB: Kyrgios gave an interview before the French Open in which he described Djokovic as 'cringeworthy' and said he had a 'sick obsession with being liked'.

Novak Djokovic's title defence at Wimbledon is still yet to come under serious threat as he eased into the last eight for the 11th time on Monday with a comfortable win over Ugo Humbert.

This is only the latest battleground in the tussle to decide who will be considered the greatest of all time. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are likely to stroll through quarter-finals.

LAURA LAMBERT AT CENTRE COURT: Novak Djokovic withstood an early scare to turn the screw on Belgian challenger David Goffin and reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

MATTHEW LAMBERT AT WIMBLEDON: Roberto Bautista Agut will meet Novak Djokovic in the first Grand Slam final of his career after beating Argentina's Guido Pella 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

He's known for his incredible sense of style and David Beckham must have been so into his Wimbledon look on Thursday, he went for something similar the day after. 

Not for the first time this tournament, Novak Djokovic's focus on tennis has been disrupted by the politics around the sport.

Novak Djokovic, 32, is set to compete in his sixth Wimbledon final on Sunday. The Serbian player has just snapped up a three-bedroom apartment at at Eighty Seven Park in Miami.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Defending singles champions perished at the US Open within 24 hours of each other, one departing to a cacophony of booing and the other to supportive cheers.

EXCLUSIVE: The world No 1, who retired from his fourth round match with a shoulder injury, spent the recent US Open with his own private hyperbaric chamber parked up next to Flushing Meadows.

Novak Djokovic made a successful return from a shoulder injury with victory over Alexei Popyrin in the opening round of the Japan Open. He had to retire from the US Open last month.

World No 1 Novak Djokovic has taken an innovative approach to training ahead of the Japan Open by stepping into the dohyo to face a sumo wrestler. 

Djokovic, who is attempting to win a title on his tournament debut for the 10th time, hit 10 aces and saved three of four break points, while showing no ill-effects from his recent shoulder injury.

The world No 1, competing in his first tournament since withdrawing from last month's US Open with a shoulder injury, secured a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Friday.

World number one Novak Djokovic secured his 76th tour-level title by beating John Millman in straight sets at the Japan Open.

Djokovic, who had a bye into round two, took his record over Shapovalov to 3-0 and has now won 22 straight sets in Asia - dating back to his title in Shanghai last year and last week's Japan Open.

Novak Djokovic's semi-final streak in Shanghai is over. The defending champion, a four-time winner of the Masters had reached the semi-finals in all eight of his tournament appearances.

Rafael Nadal has been absent from the Shanghai Masters but is guaranteed to recapture the world No 1 spot next month after Novak Djokovic went down to a shock quarter final defeat in China .

Novak Djokovic has aimed a jibe at outgoing ATP chairman Chris Kermode as the Serbian tennis star welcomed new chairman Andrea Gaudenzi to the tennis organisation on Thursday.

Kyle Edmund continued his upturn in form with a straight-sets win over Diego Schwartzman at the Rolex Paris Masters to book a showdown with world number one Novak Djokovic.

British number three Kyle Edmund had posted back-to-back wins after arriving at the Rolex Paris Masters on an eight-match losing streak that stretched back to August.

The last great tennis player to emerge, incongruously, from an upbringing that took place largely in a mountainous ski area was one of the greatest ever: Novak Djokovic.

After beginning the week under the weather, Djokovic has looked stronger with each match and he was just too good for 20-year-old Shapovalov, appearing in his first Masters final.

Novak Djokovic proved he is every inch the doting father as he larked around with his two kids during an outing the local park on Wednesday afternoon.

Novak Djokovic helped Serbia make a fast start to their Davis Cup campaign with victory over Japan in Madrid. The world number two was unfazed by a sparse crowd on the central court.

With the tie coming down to a deciding doubles rubber, Djokovic was subbed in to partner Viktor Troicki against Khachanov and Rublev, but it was the Russians who came out on top 6-4 4-6 7-6 (8).

Novak Djokovic was forced to dig deep and lost his temper with the chair umpire and crowd in his 7-6(5) 7-6(6) win over Kevin Anderson to win a testing ATC Cup tie for Serbia in Brisbane.

Djokovic, who has yet to drop a set at the tournament, beat Chile's Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-3 in Brisbane, while team-mate Dusan Lajovic won 6-2, 7-6, with Serbia set to travel to Sydney for the quarters.

Novak Djokovic showed his class in the deciding rubber to take a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 victory, and book a showdown against Spain or Australia in Sunday's showpiece.

MIKE DICKSON IN SYDNEY: It was gone 1am when Novak Djokovic fell into his team-mates' arms after starring in both the singles and doubles as Serbia came back to beat Spain 2-1.

Nadal - who lost the inaugural tournament's final singles rubber in straight sets to Novak Djokovic - complained to the umpire about fans of the Serbian star.

World No.1 Novak Djokovic's has expressed a reluctance to be given a vaccine for coronavirus, as world tennis works out the best way to get the show back on the road.

Jelena Djokovic, 33, shared a 10-minute video of an American physician which focuses on the conspiracy theory that 5G technology has played a role in creating the current global health crisis.

Novak Djokovic has been spotted in Marbella after returning to training on Monday amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

MATTHEW LAMBERT ON CENTRE COURT: It took a double-handed backhand rifled down the line in the longest rally ever recorded at Wimbledon for Novak Djokovic to finally feel the love from the crowd.

Djokovic, the reigning champion and world No 1, has eased through to his sixth SW19 showpiece and victory over eight-time winner Federer would give him his 16th grand-slam title.

JOHN LLOYD - ANALYSIS: I would not be at all surprised if Sunday's final goes to five sets, as there is so little separating Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the first and second seeds.

While he will play no part in the final at the All England Club, Nick Kyrgios sent social media into a frenzy hours before the match as he pleaded for a Roger Federer victory.

Novak Djokovic overcame Roger Federer in an epic five-set contest to win his fifth Wimbledon. The defending champion retained his crowd (6-7, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, 12-13) on Centre Court.

KIERAN GILL ON CENTRE COURT: Novak Djokovic described Sunday's Wimbledon epic as the most mentally-exhausting match of his career.

MIKE DICKSON ON CENTRE COURT: Novak Djokovic broke the resolve of Roger Federer and the hearts of the Centre Court crowd as he battled his way to a fifth Wimbledon title.

Novak Djokovic retained his Wimbledon title on Sunday with an excellent display against Roger Federer. Sportsmail 's Kieran Gill takes a look at Djokovic's best grand slam successes.

It was 1am on Monday morning when Novak Djokovic took to the stage at London's Guildhall to receive polite acclaim from All England Club members at the Champions' Dinner.

The 32-year-old Serb claimed his fifth Wimbledon title - and his 16th Grand Slam overall - just over two weeks ago following a five-set epic against fellow great Roger Federer.

Novak Djokovic enjoyed a break from his hectic training schedule as he took a romantic stroll with wife Jelena in Marbella on Thursday.