"You want to be completely comfortable with all the decisions you're making and have no regrets" - Prakash Amritraj on Novak Djokovic's stance on vaccinationÂ
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, djokovic-clarifies-stance-vaccination" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Novak Djokovic recently revealed that he was willing to forego the chance to statistically establish himself as the greatest tennis player ever in order to stick to his principles of not getting vaccinated.
The World No. 1's comments drew a mixed response from the tennis fraternity in general. But it came as a surprise to most, given how vocal the Serb has been in the past about his hunger to break records.
Former Indian tennis player Prakash Amritraj addressed the matter on Tennis Channel and tried to explain why Djokovic would make such a choice.
"Bold. I have seen it, but seeing it again, it just completely hits you," Amritraj began.
Amritraj stated that human beings need to be at peace with the decisions they make. He felt the Serb would want to look back at the choices he has made and "have no regrets."
"Let's just take a step back for a minute here. As an individual, I think we have to be at peace with all of our decisions. When we go to our grave at the end of the day, we are the ones who are going to have to look back on our lives before we go to see our maker," he continued. "You want to be completely comfortable with all the decisions you're making and have no regrets. And it seems like that's where Novak is."
"If you start living for other people, you are not going to be able to live with yourself" - Prakash Amritraj on Novak Djokovic
During the interaction on Tennis Channel, Amritraj also expressed his curiosity for the reason behind Novak Djokovic's decision to stay unvaccinated, citing the possibility of religious factors, besides medical ones.
"I am just very curious, is there a reason behind it? Is it a health reason, may be religious? We are not quite sure, but he is very staunch in his beliefs," Amritraj noted.
Amritraj also remarked that the 34-year-old was making a choice for himself instead of trying to please the world.
"If you start living for other people, you are not going to be able to live with yourself. I think that's what it comes down to." he said.
The World No. 1 will next compete at the Dubai Tennis Championships starting on February 21. He has won the tournament won five times in his career.