“The Forecasts Were Not Correct” – Former Coach Defends Novak Djokovic Over Adria Tour Fiasco

The pandemic is far from over and as tennis resumes everybody needs to take extra precautions to stay safe. Many have learned and understood the need for protocols after the Adria Tour debacle. Adria Tour was a charity tournament organized by Novak Djokovic in June.

But the tournament ran into trouble after it was seen that masks and social distancing were not mandatory, and none of the players followed any precautions. Ultimately, during the second leg of the tour, four players including Djokovic contracted the coronavirus.

“Novak Djokovic just wanted to create a big charity event” – Boris Becker

Many have debated on this matter. And Djokovic himself has apologized for the debacle and stated that it happened with a good cause in mind. There were fingers raised against Djokovic’s responsibility, maturity, and even his presidentship in the ATP player council.

One person who has seen Djokovic closely is Boris Becker. The German Veteran coached Djokovic between 2014-2016. Winning numerous titles and under Becker Djokovic completed his career Grand Slam by winning the French Open in 2016.

Recently, in a telephonic interview with UbiTennis, Becker also acknowledged the fact that Djokovic organized the event with a good cause. Becker also pointed out that the Serbian government allowed the spectators in the stadium, which certainly didn’t help. Wrong decisions were made in the Adria Tour, and now we should be more careful.

“That tournament was for a good cause, Nole just wanted to create a big charity event, but the fact that the Serbian government allowed spectators to fill the stands without protection didn’t help. The virus threat should have been handled differently globally, and instead, the wrong decision was made. Or, simply, it was hoped that everything would be fine. Unfortunately, the forecasts were not correct and, as often happens, in retrospect we can say that we had to be much more careful.” Becker said.

Read More: “No One Has a Clear Path”: Boris Becker Denies Less Competition for Novak Djokovic at US Open 2020

Fortunately, there were no casualties, and everyone recovered. This reminded everybody that we have to be serious about the virus. And so hopefully the US Open happens smoothly and safely.