04 September 2023 , 14:44
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NFL legend Aaron Rodgers watched Novak Djokovic at the US Open and could not resist referring to his stance on the coronavirus vaccine.
The New York Jets star was at Flushing Meadows to watch the Serbian compete in the fourth round of the US Open. The quarterback took a photo of Djokovic getting ready to serve and posted it to his Instagram story along with the caption: “#novaxdjokovic.”
Rodgers also drew a red line over a Moderna logo, which is one of the companies that produces the covid-19 vaccine. He then acknowledged the tennis legend’s greatness by adding: “Bucket list. Being able to witness the greatness of Novak Djokovic in person at #arthurashestadium.”
Rodgers was sceptical of the coronavirus vaccine and in August 2022 he misled reporters who thought he had been jabbed. The NFL star gave a misleading implication that he was ‘immunised’ against Covid, suggesting he had received the appropriate vaccinations.
He had in fact not been vaccinated and was actually referring to a doctor-prescribed therapeutic treatment, and reporters and fans simply assumed he was vaccinated. Rodgers was caught out as his vaccination status was revealed in November 2021 when he tested positive for coronavirus and was required to quarantine for 10 days. At the time league rules stated this is the minimum amount of time an unvaccinated player is asked to quarantine.
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Djokovic on the other hand, has been firmly against the coronavirus vaccine since it was first rolled out. As a result, he was unable to play in America for two years while his unvaccinated status also saw him deported from Australia prior to the 2022 Australian Open. However, in May the U.S. government lifted a requirement that international travellers entering the country had to be vaccinated.
Djokovic’s first tournament back on US soil was last month’s Cincinnati Masters, which he won for the second time following a victory over Carlos Alcaraz in what was a sensational final. Last night, however, Rodgers watched the tennis legend book a place in his 13th US Open quarterfinal with a victory over Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.
Aaron Rodgers at the US Open (Getty Images)
The New York Jets quarterback seemed to applaud Djokovic’s decision to not get vaccinated against COVID-19 (Instagram/@aaronrodgers12)With Rodgers enjoying the action in the stands, Djokovic spoke of the delight of having fellow elite athletes come to watch him play. “It was a pleasure to have Aaron in the stands tonight for the match,” he said in his post-match press conference in New York. "I'm hoping he enjoyed himself. Obviously him, Tom Brady being in my box for Roland Garros finals and sitting next to my wife, was a huge honour. I have a relationship with Tom for several years. We go back. I have tremendous respect for him.”
The second seed absorbed his opponent’s booming serve and heavy shots from the baseline to reach his 57th Grand Slam quarter-final. Gojo cracked 40 winners to Djokovic’s 25, but made the same number of unforced errors, in addition to eight double faults. ”I knew that Borna had a big game, even though we hadn’t faced each other at the tour level,” Djokovic said.
“I was watching him play qualifying and also the last couple of rounds of the main draw and I saw that he has big weapons with his serve and forehand and that he moves pretty well for a big guy. One of the keys to the match was to neutralise his serve, try to reduce the number of aces and winners from that shot.” Djokovic will face American No. 1 Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.