Berlin (AFP)

A thousand spectators will be allowed to attend a tennis tournament in Berlin in mid-July, its organizers announced on Wednesday, despite the controversy surrounding the contamination of four players, including the world No.1 Novak Djokovic, during the Adria Tour.

"When we host the tournament in mid-July, strict hygiene rules will be laid down and we will coordinate with the Senate," assured the tournament director and captain of the German Fed Cup team to German media, Barbara Rittner.

"We will have around 1,000 spectators on the Steffi Graf court and around 300 in an (open-air) hangar at Tempelhof," she said.

The whimsical Australian Nick Kyrgios should be there in Berlin, like Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev, who participated in the Adria Tour.

"It will be important to respect all the measures and to test the players. This is one of the conditions for this tournament to be held. If a player is positive, we will indicate it and he will not be able to play", a said Ms. Rittner, who called the Adria Tour an "absolute disaster".

Tuesday, Novak Djokovic announced to be positive for the coronavirus on the sidelines of this charity tournament which he organized in the Balkans in disregard of any health precaution.

Besides "Nole", Grigor Dimitrov (19th), Borna Coric (33rd) and Viktor Troicki (184th) were also infected during this tournament where few spectators wore masks and where the players hugged on the court or in a box at night without any contact restrictions.

"I don't understand what world they live in. For some, success has gone to their heads," said Rittner.

These numerous contaminations 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