Belgrade (AFP)
The world tennis No.1 Novak Djokovic announced Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, adding to the list of contaminated players on the sidelines of the charity tournament (Adria Tour) he organized in the Balkans.
"Novak Djokovic tested positive at Covid-19," reads a statement from his staff. The text adds that the Serbian player "has no symptoms".
Three players who participated in the Adria Tour, which started in mid-June in Belgrade, had already announced their positive test at Covid-19: the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (19th in the world), the Croatian Borna Coric (33rd) and the Serbian Viktor Troicki (184th).
"As soon as we arrived in Belgrade (from Zadar, Croatia, where the second stage of the tournament took place on Saturday and Sunday), we went to do tests. Mine and that of Jelena (his wife, editor's note) are positive Those of the children are negative, "Djokovic said in the statement.
"Nole" says "extremely sorry for each individual case of contamination". "I hope the number of those infected will not increase," he added.
"Everything we have done for a month has been done with pure heart and sincere intentions," continued the Serbian, adding that the tournament was organized "with the idea of helping the tennis players of the region, to create conditions for them to play, so that they can make an income in order to more easily overcome this difficult period. "
The images broadcast from the first stage of the Adria Tour in Belgrade showed the packed stadium, almost without a protective mask, of players hugging each other on the court or dining together without any precautions.
This was not in contradiction with the directives of the regional health authorities. Serbia also organized legislative elections on Sunday.
"We organized the tournament at a time when the virus was weakening, believing that the conditions were right for it to be held," insisted Djokovic in the press release, adding that the idea was to send "messages of solidarity, respect, fair play ".
He said that he had placed himself in solitary confinement for 14 days and that he would repeat a test in five days.
© 2020 AFP