Everyone was relieved when news came out that Novak Djokovic has tested negative for the coronavirus. His ill-fated Adria Tour was a subject of great criticism. The exhibition caused four players including Djokovic to get infected with the coronavirus thus creating panic around the resumption of tennis.
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But many believe the criticism of the World No.1 has been a tad too far. And now he is getting support from Dominic Thiem’s father Wolfgang Thiem. Dominic Thiem tested negative for the Coronavirus, he played in the first leg of Serbia.
“Blaming Novak Djokovic is too cheap for me” – Wolfgang Thiem
Wolfgang was not happy with the tour but feels that Djokovic is being made the scapegoat for the event. And Djokovic in a statement did apologize for his mistake. The Serbian mentioned that all that was done on the tour was done with a good mind for charity.
“I do not approve of what happened on the Adria Tour, but condemning Djokovic and saying he screwed it up is too cheap for me,” Wolfgang told Die Presse.
“Of course the dance at the disco was not optimal, but Djokovic basically did nothing wrong. They just got a little sloppy, they were euphoric,” he added.
Note: All the quotes were translated from German to English using Google Translate
The Adria Tour lacked basic social distancing rules and the use of masks. The stadium was crowded with spectators who weren’t wearing masks. The players were also hugging and shaking hands on the court.
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This event has caused a lot of unrest and panic among players. Djokovic’s responsibility and maturity were also questioned. He is the president of the ATP players council and there have been complaints from the other players that he hasn’t worked well enough for the other players as well.
Tennis will resume by August. The Adria Tour gave a preview of what can happen if we make a mistake. The US Open is the first Grand Slam to begin so they have taken various measures to reduce the scare of the virus. The tournament will happen behind closed doors. And Dominic Thiem recently confirmed his participation in the US circuit of the resuming season.