The Highwire with Del Bigtree - “NOVAX” NOVAK DJOKOVIC WINS MODERNA-SPONSORED U.S. OPEN

Episode Date: September 23, 2023

Tennis phenom Novak Djokovic, stood for freedom and put his entire career on the line by missing major tournaments over his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Now, he’s making a comeback and has become the greatest male tennis player of all time after winning the US open last week to become a 24-time Grand Slam Champion.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-highwire-with-del-bigtree--3620606/support.

A lot of times in these days, I hear people say, you know, where are the heroes? We're the people that our children can look up to. And I would say that this week we got to see a true hero, someone that stood for freedom and liberty in the face of his own career being destroyed by it. At the pinnacle and the moment he was alive on this earth, all of it being torn away. It didn't matter. He stood for the truth.

Who am I talking about? Novak Djokovic takes the U.S. open. Take a look at this. When you do come back here this week, is there any sort of lingering anger or disappointment that, you know, I should have been here last year? I felt sad for not being able to participate, but this year is, I mean, this year is this year. Matt Stakovich. Okay, Saddamich, sensational. From two sets, still out for the eighth time.

Can you give us a glimpse into what it takes to be still getting better at this age? I have something in my legs left, you know, I still feel I have something to give to the sport. As a 36 year old competing with 20 year olds, keep things quite simple and stick to the routines that brought me to where I am. Yeah, set up, huh. Joccovich moves on. Yeah. Not easy, but you gotta fight and as the song went, if your five minutes ago, you gotta fight for your right to party. You gotta fight for your right to party.

Tobolovych on his way to a 10th appearance in a final he's now set to face off against Daniel Medvedev. A grand slam champion again. Novak Djokovic reclaims his crown in New York. The crisis has just got Zopi Grata. Amazing athletes you'll ever see in any sport and reaches his 24 major championship. Near 2023. Well, you know, I suppose as someone.

watching this show right now that maybe has been under a rock the whole time saying what the heck does Novak Djokovic have to do with the high wire in a show that focuses on medical freedom. Well, as many of you probably remember, I hope most of you do, Novak Djokovic was basically banned from the open tour. He was stopped at the Australian Open, French Open, and the U.S. open, right at the prime his career, right? He was about to break every record in tennis staring them in the face, suddenly because he wouldn't get the COVID vaccine, they were going to ban him from all those sports. This is what he said in the middle of that,

just to reflect on, I need the power and the beauty of this guy. I understand that not being vaccinated today, I, you know, I'm unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment. And that's the price you're willing to pay. That is the price that I'm willing to pay. Ultimately, are you prepared to? to forego the chance to be the greatest player that ever picked up a racket, statistically,

because you feel so strongly about this jab? Yes, I do. But as things stand, if this means that you miss the French Open, is that price you'd be willing to pay? Yes, there is the price that I'm willing to pay. And if it means that you miss Wimbledon this year, again, that's a price you're willing to pay?

Yes. Why, no fact. Why? Why don't it? Because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I don't think there was a more profound voice through COVID than Novak Djokovic getting headlines all around the world and even being quarantined in Australia during the open there.

And when you think about what he was up against and what he had on the line, yes, certainly many of you, you know, stood down, walked away from your jobs, which was huge, supporting your family. I'm not going to say that that is any less a feat, but imagine spending your life as a dream of being the greatest ever, and then right at that pinnacle moment, you have it all taken away. Well, it didn't stop, and the U.S. Open represents his 24th major win. That is the most of any man in the history of tennis. He's tied with one other woman, who my understanding wasn't a part of the professional Open series the way it is now, but still he's now tied. One more makes him the greatest of all times without question. So to Novak Djokovic, certainly we are, you know, just celebrating that win.

And I just want to say every once in a while something happens in life that, you know, I'm going to put it on the table the types of thoughts that still run through my head. Elon Musk just over a year ago admitted when someone asked him, do you think we're living inside of a Matrix? And he said he had some actual computation. I don't remember what it was, one in a billion, but there's a chance that all of this is just some sort of video game we're living inside of And it's moments like this that make me question that.

Just for a moment, try to contemplate what are the odds that the one human being on the earth in all of sports and maybe got more attention than anybody during a mandated vaccine program stood his ground, took headlines worldwide, and his name is Novak's. Well, it's Novak, but seriously, pretty dang close, really strange. Is someone in there programming this whole thing going, come on, people, wake up. This isn't real. I don't know. But to add irony to the whole thing at the U.S. Open, of course, they're sponsors and they have the shot of the day. Well, he didn't just have the shot of the day, the shot of the match. He had the shot of the tournament and the shot of the year. And this is who was sponsoring that shot.

Well, we'll take you to the dirtish shot of the day, and it was, here's the final one. Relief and release there. So the shot of the day. Brought to you by Moderna. The shot of the day brought to you by the guy that beat everybody else that got that stupid vaccine. Well done, Novap. We're really proud of you. Seriously, a hero in this world today.

Hopefully one day we'll get you right here on the set of the highway. I'd love to talk to you about all that went through your mind going through that. What an incredible testament to sportsmanship and freedom and liberty and all that that entails.