Belgrade (AFP)
World number one Novak Djokovic, tested positive for coronavirus with three other tennis players who participated in the Adria Tour, said Tuesday "deeply sorry", admitting that he and the organizers of the tournament had "been wrong" to program such a manifestation.
"I am deeply sorry that our tournament may have caused such damage," said the 17-time grand slam winner on Twitter. "We were wrong, it was too early," added Djokovic, the main organizer of this charity tournament in the Balkans.
"Everything we have done for a month has been done with a pure heart and with sincere intentions," the Serb tried to justify himself after the announcement of his positive test.
Djokovic also called on anyone who attended the Adria Tour or who frequented participants to "get tested" and "maintain social distancing".
"For those who are in Belgrade or Zadar (where tournament matches were held, note), we will very soon be sharing health resources," he added.
"We believe that the tournament responded to health protocols and the region (of the Balkans) was in good condition to finally unite people for a philanthropic purpose", explains "Nole".
Despite the "sincere intentions" of the world N.1, social distancing measures were hardly respected, between a packed stadium in Belgrade with few masks or players who go out to nightclubs or play basketball and football , without any contact restrictions.
Three other players who participated in the tournament tested positive: Grigor Dimitrov (19th), Borna Coric (33rd) and Viktor Troicki (184th).
This cascade of positive cases could have an impact on the resumption of the ATP professional circuit, scheduled from August 14 in Washington before the US Open (August 31-September 13).
© 2020 AFP