NOVAK DJOKOVIC is infected with the coronavirus. This news was announced by the Serbian tennis player himself on Monday at around 2 p.m. The best tennis player in the world got tested in Belgrade, where he arrived from Zadar after the cancellation of the infamous Adria Tour, an exhibition tournament organized by Djokovic.
After the news that the Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov is infected came out, the final match between Russian player Rublev and Novak Djokovic was canceled, and all players and staff of the tournament had to get tested. Several players and people who attended the tournament were infected, including Croatian tennis player Borna Coric.
The tennis world is united in their criticism of Djokovic's tournament. Numerous players, analysts, and media slammed the Serbian player, saying that, by organizing the Adria Tour, he destroyed any possibility of finishing this tennis season.
We called Nikola Pilic, Djokovic's former coach, and asked for his opinion on the spread of the coronavirus that the Adria Tour caused, as well as on the continuation of the ATP season.
"I heard what happened, and I feel terribly sorry for Novak. This was a noble idea, which unfortunately ended up being a disaster. I spoke to Novak on Saturday, the day before all this happened. He was proud and happy. I participated in the organization of some big tournaments, and I know that it takes a lot of money, and Novak covered everything by himself. This tournament was supposed to be a huge promotion of Croatia in the world, especially at this delicate time. Hosting the number 1 tennis player and several other top players should have helped Croatia immensely. This is really unfortunate," Nikola Pilic told us, and then gave his opinion of what this means for the potential continuation of the season:
"What season? What are we talking about here? I have no idea how Americans believe the US Open will take place if they plan to keep the players from Europe locked up and quarantined for two weeks upon their arrival in America. I don't know, I'm not an expert, but it's clear to me that this problem is huge. It's not just a tennis-related problem. It's a problem in all sports, especially soccer. I don't know how anyone can think they'll be able to control the crowds in the stands. It's impossible. What happened here is a huge problem, and I have no idea how people from the sports world will resolve it," the legendary Croatian coach concluded.