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Djokovic reiterated to the BBC that he would not defend his Wimbledon and French Open titles, if vaccination was made a prerequisite to play.

This was his exchange with the's BBC's Amol Rajan:

Amol Rajan: Ultimately, are you willing to forego the chance to be the greatest player to ever pick up a racquet, statistically, because you feel so strongly about this jab?

Novak Djokovic: Yes, I do.

Amol Rajan: Is missing the French Open a price you are winning to pay?

Novak Djokovic: Yes, that is a price I am willing to pay.

Amol Rajan: And if it means missing Wimbledon, is that a price you are willing to pay?

Novak Djokovic: Yes.

Amol Rajan: Why Novak? Why?

Novak Djokovic: Because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I am trying to be in tune with my body as much as I can possibly can.

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Novak Djokovic went to Australia in January attempting to pull clear of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the most successful men's player in the game's history.

All three were tied on 20 Grand Slam titles each. And Djokovic was the man in form, having won three of the four contested in 2021.

However, in the wake of his deportation, Italian Salvatore Caruso - a loser in qualifying - stepped in to make up the 128-strong draw and Rafael Nadal beat Russia's Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the final to instead become the first man to win 21 Grand Slam titles.

Vaccination rules moving in Djokovic's favourpublished at 08:13 Greenwich Mean Time 15 February 2022

08:13 GMT 15 February 2022

Russell Fuller
Tennis correspondent

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Novak Djokovic has always been careful about what he puts into his body.

After breathing difficulties and injuries at the beginning of his careers, he went gluten free, cut out dairy, and reduced his sugar intake. He now starts the day with warm water and two spoonfuls of manuka honey.

He also believes in Chinese medicine's body clock, a traditional concept that shows the best tim to eat, sleep and exercise. So, if between 05:00 and 07:00 the large intestine is supposed to be working to remove toxins from the body, then Djokovic believes that is the ideal time to drink water.

Rules around vaccination are moving in his favour. If we look towards the French Open and Wimbledon in June and July, as of a couple of days ago, the unvaccinated no longer need to isolate if they arrive from countries on France's green list. That includes all EU countries.

If you are arriving to play at Wimbledon, then at the moment the unvaccinated don't need to quarantine at all.

His biggest problem will come in the US, where you do need a vaccination certificate.

The US Open takes place there at the end of August. There are also two prestigious events coming up on the men's ATP tour in March. He can probably afford to miss those, but it's hardly ideal preparation for big grand slam summer to come.

Tennis commentator David Law - a regular voice on BBC Sport - says that Novak Djokovic has had plenty of opportunity to distance himself from the anti-vax movement before now.

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In his interview with the BBC, Djokovic says he was prepared not to travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open, before he was granted a medical exemption that cleared him to take part.

Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke subsequently cancelled the 34-year-old's visa and he was deported after an 11-day saga.

"I am part of a very global sport that is played in a different location every single week, I understand the consequences of my decision," he told the BBC.

"I was prepared not to go to Australia. I understand not being vaccinated today, I am unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment.

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It's worth noting that Novak Djokovic made clear his stance on vaccination during the early days of the Covid pandemic.

During a Facebook Live stream in April 2020, he said: "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.

"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."

What more does Djokovic want to know about vaccines?published at 07:39 Greenwich Mean Time 15 February 2022

07:39 GMT 15 February 2022

Fergus Walsh
Medical editor

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It was very interesting that Novak Djokovic said during the interview that he didn't have enough information about what was in the vaccine, and didn't rule out getting the jab in future when he was more informed.

But one wonders what more information he needs. More than 10 billion doses of Covid vaccines have been administered and about six in 10 people globally have had at least one. So there is a wealth of information about them.

He also talks about "the vaccine". But there isn't just one Covid-19 vaccine, there are several. Not just the very high-tech, novel messenger RNA jabs created by Pfizer and Moderna, there are also ones based on much more traditional methods of creating vaccines as well.

He seems to have made the choice now that he would rather forgo future attempts to get another grand slam and not get a vaccine. That is a decision that is personal to him.

But the science is pretty clear that the best way to build up immunity is through being triple jabbed. As an elite athlete, he is at low risk from Covid. But not zero.

And of course, with any unvaccinated person there is a level of risk that you run when you come into contact with vulnerable people. So vaccination is not just about the individual, it is about others.

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In the interview, Djokovic denies ever being "against" vaccination but says that, as an elite athlete, he takes extra care over what he consumes.

"I was never against vaccination," he says.

"I understand that globally everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus and hopefully seeing an end soon to this virus and vaccination was probably the biggest effort made – probably half the planet was vaccinated.

"I fully respect that. But I have always represented and supported the freedom to choose what you put into your body.

"For me, it is essentially the principle of deciding what is right and wrong for you, and me, as an elite athlete, I have always carefully reviewed and assessed everything that has come in from the food, the supplements, the water, the sports drinks, anything that comes into my body as a fuel.

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Novak Djokovic has given an exclusive interview to the BBC's Amol Rajan where he has finally addressed the fallout from his controversial deportation from Australia.

In a wide-ranging discussion, his first since he was detained in Melbourne in January, Djokovic says that he would rather miss out on future tennis trophies than be forced to get a Covid vaccine.

Here are some of the key things to know from the interview:

• The 20-time major winner says that he is willing to sacrifice his chance to compete for future Grand Slam titles and risk his opportunity to become statistically the greatest tennis player of all time over the issue
• But he rejects association with the broader anti-vax movement, noting that he simply supports the right to choose
• He addresses speculation about the timing of his positive coronavirus case in December and discusses his own attitude towards the vaccine
• He also rejects accusations that a positive Covid-19 test in December, which saw him granted a travel exemption, was tampered with
• The Serb tells the BBC that his medical exemption request was made anonymously, and it was accepted by two independent Australian panels

Read the BBC's exclusive interview with Djokovic in full here.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the reaction to Novak Djokovic's exclusive interview with the BBC this morning.

As the developments comes in, we'll be bringing you all the latest updates here.