Novak Djokovic claims he was 'never anti-vax'

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has claimed he was not against the Covid-19 vaccine, despite missing multiple major tournaments over his refusal to be vaccinated against the virus.

The Serbian missed a number of tournaments during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the Australian Open and US Open.

Speaking to tennis legend John McEnroe in an interview for his show McEnroe's Places, Djokovic claimed he is not anti-vaccine.

Djokovic, speaking after his US Open win and record 24th major championship, said: "I was never anti-vax. I was always pro freedom to choose. And that's something that we took really for granted. I didn't feel like a lot of people had a choice, really."

He said bans from major tennis tournaments made him feel like a "villain of the world".

Djokovic has won seven of the last 10 major tournaments he has played and came up just a Wimbledon final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz short of a season slam this year.