Novak Djokovic has issued a passionate statement in which he has pleaded with the public to obey the restrictions of movement to help emergency workers in their fight against the Coronavirus.
Djokovic, who is also the president of the ATP Player Council, said ‘we (the public) can’t be healthy if the world isn’t healthy.’ The world of tennis has been suspended until June due to the devastating Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives. In Italy alone, there have been 4825 deaths (as of Saturday) with the toll still climbing. The elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions are the most at risk. There has been more than 300,000 cases of Covid-19 worldwide, according to official figures.
“‘I pray for the health and healing of you,’ Djokovic posted on social media.
“May God heal any sickness you have physical, mental or spiritual. May he give you health, energy and joy today.’
“(Its) Very challenging times for everyone. I am sending support and prayers. Please stay at home in quarantine and help frontline medical people to help all the people infected and in need. Let’s not burden them in these critical times more than they already are.”
Elaborating further, the 17-time grand slam champion has called for there to be a sense of unity and people should enjoy spending time with their families. In Djokovic’s home country of Serbia the government has banned playing and walking in public parks to curb the spread of the virus.
“This is the time for all of us to get together and unite. Let’s really try to spend quality time with our family at home, enjoy the little things in life. Let’s try to laugh, love and dedicate time to inner work. Pray, meditate, eat healthy, play music, sing, dance, read, write, workout, sleep well, train our brains to think good thoughts… This is a great opportunity to do that.” Djokovic wrote.
In a separate post, Djokovic posted a photo of medical workers holding up signs in Serbian. It translates ‘Whoever stays indoors is a real hero who makes much less work for us all.’ The photo came with the hashtag ‘stayathome.’
❤️🙏🏼🇷🇸 #stayhome pic.twitter.com/eFaBEmcxsq
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) March 22, 2020
The world No.1 is the latest top name to comment on the ongoing crises. Roger Federer, who trails Djokovic 23-27 in their head-to-head, is another tennis figures to urge people to stay at home.
“It’s really important to take these rules seriously. Very, very seriously.” Federer said in a video message.
“Eventually, we could all be in quarantine and not be able to leave the house anymore, so I really hope all of us take it very seriously.”
Prior to the suspension of the tour, Djokovic started 2020 by winning 18 consecutive matches. This season he has already won titles at the ATP Cup, Australian Open and Dubai Tennis Championships.
Djokovic’s statement in full
source – https://twitter.com/DjokerNole
