Paris (AFP)

Was the party too good? Three of the players, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, reunited by Novak Djokovic for a bacchanal around tennis in the Balkans were tested positive for coronavirus, which raises fears of a domino effect before the resumption of the ATP circuit and in particular the 'US Open.

Dimitrov, 19th in the world, was flat for his match against Coric on Sunday in Zadar. The dreaded explanation fell the same evening by a tweet from the Bulgarian who had hurriedly left his colleagues in Croatia: "I tested positive for Covid-19 when I returned to Monaco".

Unlike the outpourings that had marked the Adria Tour so far, Dimitrov had simply "checked" Coric at the end of their match. His tweet caused the cancellation of the Zadar final between Djokovic and the Russian Andrey Rublev (14th). Monday morning, Coric announced in turn to be positive.

"Hello everyone, I wanted to tell you that I tested positive for Covid-19. I want to be sure that anyone who has been in contact with me for the past few days will be tested! I am very sorry for the harm that I could do it! "writes Coric (33rd) in a tweet that looks very similar to the one published on Sunday by Dimitrov.

Serbian player Viktor Troicki (184th) also tested positive, we learned in the evening of Monday. He notably played a match with Djokovic last week in Belgrade.

At the same time, Djokovic's physical trainer Marko Paniki and Dimitrov's coach Kristijan Groh were also tested positive, according to local press, which said that the world N.1 quickly left Zadar for Belgrade where it was tested on Monday morning.

- Celebration -

The Serbian capital, whose Red Star football club announced on Monday that five of its players had tested positive for coronavirus, hosted the first stop on the Adria Tour in mid-June. And the images that have been broadcast have something to thrill the advocates of physical distancing.

A packed stadium, almost not a protective mask, players who hug each other on the court, dine together without any precautions, go wild shirtless in a box (were notably noticed in this exercise Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Dimitrov ), play basketball without any contact restrictions ...

None of this was in contradiction with the directives of the regional health authorities. Djokovic had also responded to criticisms of the little distancing observed by highlighting the "rather decent" assessment of the Balkan countries in their fight against the coronavirus. No problem, then.

But that was before ... Before Dimitrov and Coric admitted they had been infected.

"Foolish decision to make the exhibition (...), this is what happens when one does not respect the protocols. It is NOT A Joke", tweeted the Australian Nick Kyrgios.

"How can I explain to my young people that they have to respect distances when Djokovic organizes farandoles on the court? It is a catastrophic image !, vexed the vice-president of the German Federation Dirk Hordoff. not just players, there were a hundred young people in contact with them. There are no health rules and we are proudly showing this on video, my arms fall to me. "

- Fears -

Because now, we fear a catastrophic domino effect for tennis since also participated in the Adria Tour Dominic Thiem (3rd) and Alexander Zverev (7th). The latter was tested negative, as was Marin Cilic (37th) and Rublev who announced that he would put himself on his own fortnight.

On the other hand, Thiem had left the Balkans a few days earlier to join the south of France to take part in the competition of Patrick Mouratoglou, the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) where Stefanos Tsitsipas (6th), Matteo Berrettini ( 8th) and David Goffin (10th).

The UTS organization had announced Friday, photo supporting, that Thiem had been tested on arrival. "All the players have been tested on arrival before participating in the UTS," said the big manager Mouratoglou on Sunday evening.

Still, the Balkan cluster could be expensive for the ATP circuit and the US Open which will take place without qualifications (August 31-September 13) but for which several big names have reported reluctance (including Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep ) regarding health conditions and restrictions.

© 2020 AFP