First modification:
The number one in world tennis acquired the majority stake in the Danish biotechnology firm QuantBioRes, which is developing a treatment against Covid-19. The news comes amid the debate that caused his recent deportation from Australian territory for not being vaccinated against the disease.
Novad Djokovic is the majority owner of the Danish biotech company QuantBioRes, which is seeking a parallel treatment to coronavirus vaccines, according to the firm’s executive director, Ivan Loncarevic, told the Reuters news agency.
Loncarevic stressed that the company’s project against the virus “consists of designing a treatment that can block the infection mechanism between the coronavirus” and human cells, and indicated that the company plans to start clinical trials in the United Kingdom in the summer.
Neither Djokovic nor his spokesmen have referred to the purchase of the company, for the moment.
The acquisition was made in June 2020, the month in which the athlete announced that he was infected with Covid-19, after organizing the Adria Tour, a controversial exhibition tournament that did not fully respect the sanitary measures in one of the worst moments of the pandemic.
The news of the acquisition also comes to light in the context of the controversy over his arrest upon arrival in Australia and subsequent legal battle of the tennis player against the Australian authorities, who canceled his visa for not having a vaccine against Covid-19 upon entry into the country.
What happened to Djokovic in Australia?
Not being vaccinated, Novad Djokovic received from the authorities of Victoria (one of the six Australian states) a medical exemption to enter the country for having overcome Covid-19 in December and to be able to play the Australian Open, which began on 17 January in Melbourne and is one of the most prestigious competitions on the professional tennis circuit.
However, in Australian territory, Djokovic was held by the border authorities, dependent on the central government, whose mandate prohibits any foreign citizen from entering the country without having been vaccinated and whose regulations do not contemplate recent contagion as a reason for exemption.
During the clearance process, he was quarantined in a hotel the athlete called “infamous.”
After the appeal of Djokovic’s lawyer, the Australian Justice decided that the Serb was not fit to remain within its borders, so his visa was canceled and he was deported.
In a statement, the Association of Professional Tennis Players, ATP, the governing organization of professional tennis, regretted the court decision against Djokovic.
ATP statement on the cancellation of Novak Djokovic’s visa in Australia.
– ATP Tour in Spanish (@ATPTour_ES) January 16, 2022
The deportation from Australia of the tennis number one prevented him from a golden opportunity: to have competed for the victory of the tournament, and if he had won it, Djokovic would have obtained his Grand Slam number 21, thus becoming the first tennis player in the world to achieve as many consecutive victories of these championships, which would place him above two historical ones like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Although experience becomes the best ally of athletes, time plays the opposite role. In his 30s, the chances of winning a top-level tournament are dwindling, so the 34-year-old Djokovic suffers a major setback at the height of his career. And it seems that France, host of the Roland Garros tournament, will not allow his participation either, unless he is vaccinated.
with Reuters
.