He's a great player to watch, as long as he's playing, it's good for the sport" - Felix Auger-Aliassime on Novak Djokovic's return  

In a recent interview with Eurosport, Felix Auger-Aliassime claimed that Novak Djokovic's return to the court after the vaccine saga in Australia is "good for the sport." The Canadian said Djokovic is a "great player to watch" and that his return to the court will benefit tennis.

“I do think it's good for the sport at the end of the day. I mean, he's a great player to watch. And as long as he's playing, it's good for the sport that he steps on the court and competes with all of us. That is good for the sport," said Auger-Aliassime.

Novak Djokovic began his 2022 tennis season at the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this week, after his vaccination and visa fiasco in Australia last month. However, the 20-time Grand Slam champion suffered a disappointing return as he was bundled out of the tournament by Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

In an earlier interview with the BBC, Djokovic highlighted that he would not get himself vaccinated against COVID-19 even if it comes at the cost of skipping Grand Slams in the future.

Reacting to this, Felix mentioned that the 20-time Grand Slam champion explained the vaccination situation really well. The Canadians said that "everybody's free to do whatever they want" and that their choices must be respected

“As for the vaccination, I think he really explained it well. At the end he is not the only one, everybody's free to do whatever they want and we need to respect that; we for sure know people either in our family sometimes or in our group of friends or circle that are not, they don't want to get the vaccine," added the Canadian player.

Novak Djokovic's approach is correct since he accepts the consequences of his decision: Auger-Aliassime

Novak Djokovic at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2022

In the same interview, Auger-Aliassime emphasized that since Djokovic is ready to face the consequences of his decision not to take the vaccine, his approach is absolutely correct. He reflected that if one is allowed to make a free choice, they must also accept the ramifications that come with it.

“I think he really accepts what comes with it and I think that's correct. You have to be free in the world to do what you want and accept what comes with it. And for me, that's totally fine," concluded Auger-Aliassime.

With Djokovic losing to Vesely in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, Daniil Medvedev will become the 27th World No. 1 next Monday.