Tennis star NOVAK DJOKOVIC was profiled Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes," where the show's Jon Wertheim noted while Djokovic has “now surpassed" rivals ROGER FEDERER and RAFAEL NADAL on “scoreboards and in record books, he’s aware that he’s never quite matched their soaring popularity.” Djokovic said he has "kind of learned how to thrive in that environment and people think that it’s actually better if they don’t like me so it gets the best out of me in terms of tennis.” Djokovic: “At the same time I actually enjoy more being in an environment where I have nice support.” The issue of Djokovic’s anti-vaccination stance was addressed, "including being given an exemption to play in the 2022 Australian Open" but then being deported after he received backlash over the decision, with Djokovic saying, “I was basically declared as a villain of the world … and I had basically most of the of the world against me." He added, "I had that kind of experience on the tennis court with crowds that were not maybe cheering me on, but I never had this particular experience before in my life.” Wertheim noted, “You were not against vaccinations, you just did not want it for yourself.” Djokovic: “People tried to declare me as anti-vax. I’m not anti-vax nor am I pro-vax. I’m pro freedom to choose.” Wertheim: “He may be tennis’s apex predator, but is exceedingly popular among his prey, that is with other players. He’s won more money than any tennis player in history yet co-founded a players association designed largely to ease the financial burden of pro tennis’s rank-and-file” (“60 Minutes,” CBS, 12/10).
