Adar Poonawalla hopes that Djokovic will change his mind on vaccines, says he respects tennis champ’s personal views

The men's world No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic seems to have kicked the hornet's nest with his latest comments. The 34-year-old professional tennis player in a recent interview said that he was prepared to sacrifice his tennis career and the chance to become the most successful player ever rather than be forced to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The tennis player’s comments led to highly polarised reactions on social media. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the incident. The 41-year-old entrepreneur said that he respected Djokovic and loved watching him play, however, he hoped that the ace tennis player would change his mind.

“I respect your personal views on not getting vaccinated @DjokerNole and love watching you play, but I hope you change your mind. In the meantime, the rest of us now might stand a chance at a Grand Slam,” tweeted Poonawalla. The billionaire also shared a video of him playing tennis in his tweet.

In January, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was deported from Australia and his visa was cancelled over his vaccine status. In his interview with the BBC, the tennis star described the conditions under which he was detained as ‘very hard’.

The tennis icon said that he wanted to speak to the media at that time, however, he refrained as he wanted to respect the legal process of the nation and the Australian Open. Djokovic has also clarified that he was not part of any anti-vaccine movement and that he staunchly supported an individual’s right to choose.

Adar Poonawalla is among the key figures in India's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. SII was instrumental in providing vaccination to millions of people in India. The company is also the manufacturer of the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield. Poonawala's company is presently the world's largest vaccine manufacturer in terms of number of doses.