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Novak Djokovic, the nine-time champion in the Australian Open tennis tournament, is unable to claim his title this year as he is unvaccinated.

It was recently revealed that the tennis star has an 80 per cent stake in a Danish biotech firm, QuantBioRes, which aims to develop a Covid-19 treatment.

The company's chief executive officer Ivan Loncarevic told Reuters on Wednesday (Jan. 19).

Treatment, not a vaccine

QuantBioRes stated on their company website that they are "developing treatments and cures for retroviruses and resistant bacteria".

Speaking to Reuters, Loncarevic said the company has "a dozen" researchers working in Denmark, Australia and Slovenia.

They are working on a peptide which prevents the coronavirus from infecting the human cell.

He emphasised that they are working on a treatment, not a vaccine.

The website stated that the company began testing for what they call a "deactivation mechanism" for Covid-19 in July 2020 without providing further details.

Loncarevic said that Djokovic made the investment in June 2020 without revealing the sum of money involved.

The website also did not provide any information about their employees, and their photo gallery has vague descriptions to the photos such as "Chemistry students" and "Test tubes".

Djokovic's views on Covid-19 vaccines

According to BBC, in April 2020, Djokovic commented that he was "opposed to vaccination". This was said before Covid-19 vaccines were rolled out.

He did however clarify that he was "no expert" and would keep an "open mind" but wanted the choice to decide whether the vaccine was good for his body or not.

During the Serbia Open in April 2021, he told reporters that he hopes getting vaccinated would not be made compulsory by the sport's governing bodies, adding that he believes in the freedom of choice, according to CNN.

Djokovic lost his chance to win back his title at the Australian Open this year and was deported from Australia after his visa was revoked due to his vaccination status.

The world number one tennis player has returned home to Serbia after getting deported from Australia.

His vaccination status may also cost him his title at the French Open in May 2022, as the French sports minister announced that athletes will need to be vaccinated to participate in sporting tournaments in France.

Djokovic remains unvaccinated till today.

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Top image from Novak Djokovic/Facebook.