Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic has opposed if it becomes compulsory for players to get vaccinated before they can begin competing once the tennis season resumes following the pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world number one said.

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic has opposed if it becomes compulsory for players to get vaccinated before they can begin competing once the tennis season resumes following the pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world number one said.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/kobe-university-professor-very-pessimistic-about-olympics-being-held-in-2021-293566" hreflang="en">Kobe University professor 'very pessimistic' about Olympics being held in 2021</a>

“Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” Djokovic said in a live Facebook chat with several fellow Serbian athletes.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/resumption-of-champions-league-in-august-postponement-of-202021-ucl-season-likely-reports-293535" hreflang="en">Resumption of Champions League in August; postponement of 2020/21 UCL season likely: Reports</a>

"But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know.

"Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet."

Medical experts have said that vaccines against the respiratory virus would not be available until next year, raising concerns&nbsp;whether any further tennis tournaments can be contested this year.

Wimbledon was cancelled on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament won't be played.

The All England Club announced after an emergency meeting that the event it refers to simply as The Championships is being scrapped for 2020. Wimbledon was scheduled to be played on the club's grass courts on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12.

Djokovic made a flying start to the 2020 season, winning the Aussie Open in January for his 17th grand slam title and stretched his winning run to 18 matches before the pandemic brought sports events across the world to a halt.&nbsp;

“Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” Djokovic said in a live Facebook chat with several fellow Serbian athletes.

“But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know.

“Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet."

Medical experts have said that vaccines against the respiratory virus would not be available until next year, raising doubts whether any further tennis tournaments can be contested this year.

Wimbledon was cancelled on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament won't be played.

The All England Club announced after an emergency meeting that the event it refers to simply as The Championships is being scrapped for 2020. Wimbledon was scheduled to be played on the club's grass courts on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12.

Djokovic made a dream&nbsp;start to the 2020 season, winning the Aussie Open in January for his 17th grand slam title and stretched his winning run to 18 matches before the pandemic brought sports events across the world to a halt.&nbsp;

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic has opposed if it becomes compulsory for players to get vaccinated before they can begin competing once the tennis season resumes following the pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world number one said.

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic has opposed if it becomes compulsory for players to get vaccinated before they can begin competing once the tennis season resumes following the pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world number one said. Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic has opposed if it becomes compulsory for players to get vaccinated before they can begin competing once the tennis season resumes following the pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world number one said. Also read: Kobe University professor 'very pessimistic' about Olympics being held in 2021 “Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” Djokovic said in a live Facebook chat with several fellow Serbian athletes. Also read: Resumption of Champions League in August; postponement of 2020/21 UCL season likely: Reports "But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know. "Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet." Medical experts have said that vaccines against the respiratory virus would not be available until next year, raising concerns whether any further tennis tournaments can be contested this year. Wimbledon was cancelled on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament won't be played. The All England Club announced after an emergency meeting that the event it refers to simply as The Championships is being scrapped for 2020. Wimbledon was scheduled to be played on the club's grass courts on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12. Djokovic made a flying start to the 2020 season, winning the Aussie Open in January for his 17th grand slam title and stretched his winning run to 18 matches before the pandemic brought sports events across the world to a halt. “Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” Djokovic said in a live Facebook chat with several fellow Serbian athletes. “But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know. “Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet." Medical experts have said that vaccines against the respiratory virus would not be available until next year, raising doubts whether any further tennis tournaments can be contested this year. Wimbledon was cancelled on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament won't be played. The All England Club announced after an emergency meeting that the event it refers to simply as The Championships is being scrapped for 2020. Wimbledon was scheduled to be played on the club's grass courts on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12. Djokovic made a dream start to the 2020 season, winning the Aussie Open in January for his 17th grand slam title and stretched his winning run to 18 matches before the pandemic brought sports events across the world to a halt.

Tennis Ace Novak Djokovic refuses to get vaccinated for COVID-19 to return to game

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/rafael-nadal-powers-spain-into-davis-cup-semis-novak-djokovics-serbia-ousted-263989">Novak Djokovic</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/nadal-murray-honoured-at-atp-awards-269400">Rafael&nbsp;Nadal</a>&nbsp;urged organisers of the ATP Cup and Davis Cup Finals to consider a possible merger, saying it makes little sense to have two men's team competitions on the tennis calendar.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/atp-cup-2020-tennis-innovative-24-team-tournament-to-begin-from-january-3-271406">ATP Cup</a>, which begins on Friday, will feature 24 nations contesting in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney over 10 days for the first time and will give the top men's players a solid platform to prepare for the Australian Open.

The tournament, however, comes just six weeks after the inaugural edition of the revamped Davis Cup, the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/australian-open-prize-pool-jumps-to-49-million-biggest-gains-for-early-rounds-269945">International Tennis Federation</a>'s flagship event, which was similar in nature and question remains if the two can co-exist in the future.

"We need to have one Super World Cup event, whatever you want to call it," world number two Djokovic, who heads the ATP players' council, told a news conference on Thursday.

"That's not going to happen next year... but if the two sides, the ITF, the Davis Cup, and the ATP get together very quickly, it can happen possibly for 2022.

"I hope it will happen because it's kind of hard to get top players to commit to play both events. And it's six weeks apart, so they're not really helping each other in terms of marketing, in terms of the value of the event and so forth."

Djokovic's concerns were echoed by world number one&nbsp;Nadal, who said having to play back-to-back team tournaments was confusing.

"For me personally that's not the ideal situation for our sport, but that's how it works today and I'm very excited that we can change that in the future," said&nbsp;Nadal, who won a fifth Davis Cup title with Spain in November.

The participating teams for the event have been determined by the singles ranking of their best player. Six of the top seven players in the world, barring Swiss great <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/federer-and-zverev-mexico-city-match-breaks-world-attendance-record-264207">Roger Federer</a>, have arrived in Australia.

Federer pulled out of the event to spend more time with his family. Britain's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/andy-murray-pulls-out-of-australian-open-with-injury-270808">Andy Murray</a> and Japan's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/miami-open-kei-nishikori-stunned-by-lajovic-in-second-round-204964">Kei Nishikori</a> are other notable absentees due to injury.

Australian Open holder Djokovic will make his ATP Cup debut for Serbia against South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday while&nbsp;Nadal&nbsp;will lead Spain into action against Georgia in Perth on the same day.

Revamped Aussie summer

To accommodate the $15 million ATP Cup, which also offers 750 ranking points, this year's Australian Open has been pushed back from its usual mid-month start by a week and will kick off at Melbourne Park from January&nbsp;20.

The ATP Cup has also left no room in the revamped tennis calendar for the mixed-gender Hopman Cup, which is popular with players and has traditionally served as a warm-up for the year's first Grand Slam.

With Brisbane hosting matches in the ATP Cup, next week's Brisbane International will be a women's only tournament while the Sydney International - one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world dating back to 1885 - has also gone missing.

Sydney's loss proved to be Adelaide's gain as the city will host the Adelaide International from January&nbsp;12, where Djokovic and women's world number one Ash Barty are the top draws.

ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/wimbledon-champion-simona-halep-targets-strong-finish-in-asia-251694">Wimbledon champion Simona Halep</a> will also play in Adelaide.

Sydney, which will host both the knockout stage of the ATP Cup and the group stage, also has to deal with apprehensions about smoke from the devastating bushfires impacting play.

Britain's team captain Tim Henman played down those concerns.

"In the context of what this country is going through with the bushfires and for us having to deal with perhaps slightly poor air quality, I think right there is the perspective," he told reporters. "I don't envisage it being a problem at all."

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal urged organisers of the ATP Cup and Davis Cup Finals to consider a possible merger, saying it makes little sense to have two men's team competitions on the tennis calendar.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal urged organisers of the ATP Cup and Davis Cup Finals to consider a possible merger, saying it makes little sense to have two men's team competitions on the tennis calendar. The ATP Cup, which begins on Friday, will feature 24 nations contesting in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney over 10 days for the first time and will give the top men's players a solid platform to prepare for the Australian Open. The tournament, however, comes just six weeks after the inaugural edition of the revamped Davis Cup, the International Tennis Federation's flagship event, which was similar in nature and question remains if the two can co-exist in the future. "We need to have one Super World Cup event, whatever you want to call it," world number two Djokovic, who heads the ATP players' council, told a news conference on Thursday. "That's not going to happen next year... but if the two sides, the ITF, the Davis Cup, and the ATP get together very quickly, it can happen possibly for 2022. "I hope it will happen because it's kind of hard to get top players to commit to play both events. And it's six weeks apart, so they're not really helping each other in terms of marketing, in terms of the value of the event and so forth." Djokovic's concerns were echoed by world number one Nadal, who said having to play back-to-back team tournaments was confusing. "For me personally that's not the ideal situation for our sport, but that's how it works today and I'm very excited that we can change that in the future," said Nadal, who won a fifth Davis Cup title with Spain in November. The participating teams for the event have been determined by the singles ranking of their best player. Six of the top seven players in the world, barring Swiss great Roger Federer, have arrived in Australia. Federer pulled out of the event to spend more time with his family. Britain's Andy Murray and Japan's Kei Nishikori are other notable absentees due to injury. Australian Open holder Djokovic will make his ATP Cup debut for Serbia against South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday while Nadal will lead Spain into action against Georgia in Perth on the same day. Revamped Aussie summer To accommodate the $15 million ATP Cup, which also offers 750 ranking points, this year's Australian Open has been pushed back from its usual mid-month start by a week and will kick off at Melbourne Park from January 20. The ATP Cup has also left no room in the revamped tennis calendar for the mixed-gender Hopman Cup, which is popular with players and has traditionally served as a warm-up for the year's first Grand Slam. With Brisbane hosting matches in the ATP Cup, next week's Brisbane International will be a women's only tournament while the Sydney International - one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world dating back to 1885 - has also gone missing. Sydney's loss proved to be Adelaide's gain as the city will host the Adelaide International from January 12, where Djokovic and women's world number one Ash Barty are the top draws. ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep will also play in Adelaide. Sydney, which will host both the knockout stage of the ATP Cup and the group stage, also has to deal with apprehensions about smoke from the devastating bushfires impacting play. Britain's team captain Tim Henman played down those concerns. "In the context of what this country is going through with the bushfires and for us having to deal with perhaps slightly poor air quality, I think right there is the perspective," he told reporters. "I don't envisage it being a problem at all."

Djokovic and Nadal rally for merger of ATP Cup and Davis Cup

Not every day, do&nbsp;we see something funny come out of a serious press conference.&nbsp;

On Tuesday, a kid reporter cum fan was at the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/us-open-federer-narrowly-beats-american-teenager-frances-tiafoe-19656">US Open Tennis Tournament press conference where Roger Federer </a>was addressing the media.

The kid got his chance to speak at the conference and he went on to ask the 19-time champion (Grand Slam singles titles) about why he&#39;s referred to by the nickname of G.O.A.T even though there is not a lot of livestock in his native country, Switzerland. The kid thought he was actually nicknamed after the farm animal.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/us-open-japanese-teen-naomi-osaka-upsets-defending-champion-kerber-429">Roger Federer looked amused by the question</a> and he laughed before answering it. The tennis champion said, &ldquo;Some fans call me that; I don&rsquo;t call myself that.&quot; After taking a pause, he added, &ldquo;But yeah, we have a lot of animals in Switzerland and goats are part of the livestock we have over there, yes.&rdquo;

After this the cute kid went on to say that he has a &quot;serious&nbsp;question&quot; and asked if he &quot;could continue playing for another 8-9 years&quot; so that he could get to play Roger Federer when he &quot;becomes a pro&quot; himself.&nbsp;

Being a sport, Federer answered that he would try to &quot;make a comeback&quot; for him and that it is a &quot;pinky promise&quot;.&nbsp;

Roger Federer, is currently ranked world No. 3 in men&#39;s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals and is commonly referred to by the nickname G.O.A.T which stands for&nbsp;Greatest of All Time.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h2>Watch the video:&nbsp;</h2>

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0gfEqBdUkfE" width="970"></iframe>

(WION)

&nbsp;

He seemed amused with the question and laughed before answering

Not every day, do we see something funny come out of a serious press conference. On Tuesday, a kid reporter cum fan was at the US Open Tennis Tournament press conference where Roger Federer was addressing the media. The kid got his chance to speak at the conference and he went on to ask the 19-time champion (Grand Slam singles titles) about why he's referred to by the nickname of G.O.A.T even though there is not a lot of livestock in his native country, Switzerland. The kid thought he was actually nicknamed after the farm animal. Roger Federer looked amused by the question and he laughed before answering it. The tennis champion said, “Some fans call me that; I don’t call myself that." After taking a pause, he added, “But yeah, we have a lot of animals in Switzerland and goats are part of the livestock we have over there, yes.” After this the cute kid went on to say that he has a "serious question" and asked if he "could continue playing for another 8-9 years" so that he could get to play Roger Federer when he "becomes a pro" himself. Being a sport, Federer answered that he would try to "make a comeback" for him and that it is a "pinky promise". Roger Federer, is currently ranked world No. 3 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals and is commonly referred to by the nickname G.O.A.T which stands for Greatest of All Time. Watch the video: (WION)

Kid reporter asks Roger Federer why he's called the G.O.A.T. at the US Open

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/light-moderate-rainfall-expected-in-mumbai-today-indian-metrological-department-19653">Mumbai is witnessing the highest rainfall of the century</a> and it has brought the city to a standstill.

In the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/maximum-city-mumbai-submerged-as-it-battles-worst-rain-crisis-since-2005-19642"> midst of all this mayhem, Twitter has another issue</a> regarding Mumbai&#39;s rains and its celebrities.&nbsp;

On Tuesday evening, Lara Dutta, Bollywood actress and former Miss Universe posted a picture in which she uses her husband&#39;s towels to stop&nbsp;rain water to enter her house. Little did she know, that her post would become the most trending topic on Twitter soon after.&nbsp;

She wrote:&nbsp;&quot;Putting our Wimbledon, US Open, Aus Open &amp;French Open towels to good use!@Maheshbhupathi #MumbaiRain.Stay safe &amp; indoors if possible folks!.&quot;

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Putting our Wimbledon,US Open, Aus Open &amp;French Open towels to good use!??<a href="https://twitter.com/Maheshbhupathi">@Maheshbhupathi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MumbaiRain?src=hash">#MumbaiRain</a>.Stay safe &amp; indoors if possible folks!?? <a href="https://t.co/uEV30SPfT5">pic.twitter.com/uEV30SPfT5</a>
&mdash; Lara Dutta Bhupathi (@LaraDutta) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaraDutta/status/902479760214786048">August 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Lara Dutta is married to Indian tennis ace&nbsp;Mahesh Bhupathi and it&#39;s important to note that the towels thus shown in the picture were not any ordinary towels, but symbolic of the matches her husband had won.&nbsp;

Soon after the picture was out, the Indian sports star reacted angrily to her tweet. He shot back saying:&nbsp;&quot;Are u kidding me !!!! That&#39;s years of hard work.&quot;

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Are u kidding me !!!! That&#39;s years of hard work ?????? <a href="https://t.co/3ihImzbOWa">https://t.co/3ihImzbOWa</a>
&mdash; Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) <a href="https://twitter.com/Maheshbhupathi/status/902481261180084225">August 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Bhupathi has won the Australian Open twice in both mixed doubles, French Open four times in two men&#39;s and two mixed doubles, Wimbledon thrice in two mixed and one men&#39;s doubles and the US Open also thrice in two mixed and one men&#39;s doubles.&nbsp;

While most <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/heavy-rains-lash-mumbai-several-areas-waterlogged-19617">schools and colleges remain shut today in Mumbai because of severe waterlogging</a>, there are reports that traffic is clearing and people can travel by road.&nbsp;

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis advised citizens last night in a tweet, to stay home unless there is an emergency.

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In the wake of warnings issued by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IMD?src=hash">#IMD</a> people in Mumbai and areas around <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mumbai?src=hash">#Mumbai</a> are advised to stay back home unless there is an emergency.
&mdash; CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMOMaharashtra/status/902543123607257089">August 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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(WION)

Bhupathi wrote back to her on Twitter and he was very upset

Mumbai is witnessing the highest rainfall of the century and it has brought the city to a standstill. In the midst of all this mayhem, Twitter has another issue regarding Mumbai's rains and its celebrities. On Tuesday evening, Lara Dutta, Bollywood actress and former Miss Universe posted a picture in which she uses her husband's towels to stop rain water to enter her house. Little did she know, that her post would become the most trending topic on Twitter soon after. She wrote: "Putting our Wimbledon, US Open, Aus Open &French Open towels to good use!@Maheshbhupathi #MumbaiRain.Stay safe & indoors if possible folks!." Putting our Wimbledon,US Open, Aus Open &French Open towels to good use!??@Maheshbhupathi #MumbaiRain.Stay safe & indoors if possible folks!?? pic.twitter.com/uEV30SPfT5 — Lara Dutta Bhupathi (@LaraDutta) August 29, 2017 × Lara Dutta is married to Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi and it's important to note that the towels thus shown in the picture were not any ordinary towels, but symbolic of the matches her husband had won. Soon after the picture was out, the Indian sports star reacted angrily to her tweet. He shot back saying: "Are u kidding me !!!! That's years of hard work." Are u kidding me !!!! That's years of hard work ?????? https://t.co/3ihImzbOWa — Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) August 29, 2017 × Bhupathi has won the Australian Open twice in both mixed doubles, French Open four times in two men's and two mixed doubles, Wimbledon thrice in two mixed and one men's doubles and the US Open also thrice in two mixed and one men's doubles. While most schools and colleges remain shut today in Mumbai because of severe waterlogging, there are reports that traffic is clearing and people can travel by road. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis advised citizens last night in a tweet, to stay home unless there is an emergency. In the wake of warnings issued by #IMD people in Mumbai and areas around #Mumbai are advised to stay back home unless there is an emergency. — CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) August 29, 2017 × (WION)

Mumbai rain: Lara Dutta tweets picture with her husband Mahesh Bhupathi's Wimbledon towels, he gets angry