Vienna (AFP)
Austrian Dominic Thiem will donate his participation bonus to the controversial Adria Tour during which several participants, including star Novak Djokovic, have been infected with coronavirus, the player's father and trainer announced on Friday.
In an interview with the Austrian daily newspaper Presse, Wolfgang Thiem said that his son, N.3 worldwide, would pay his premium, the amount of which is not known, to an association whose name he did not specify.
He also defended Djokovic, organizer of the Adria Tour which staged in Serbia and Croatia before its cancellation following the announcement of the contamination of several players and members of their entourage.
"Of course, going dancing in a club was not a good idea, but Djokovic did nothing really wrong," said Thiem father.
"I prefer that there be several more cases of coronavirus and that thousands of euros be raised for a clinic for children suffering from cancer," he continued.
Besides Djokovic, three other players - Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki - who participated in the Adria Tour, as well as the coach of the Serbian, Goran Ivanisevic, and the wife of the world N.1 were tested positive for coronavirus .
The tournament, intended to raise funds for hospitals, was held in defiance of any safety rule in front of several thousand supporters: the players had notably kissed over the net, had played basketball and had even danced at a nightclub in Belgrade.
Djokovic then said he was "deeply sorry" that the tournament "caused harm".
He has since donated more than 40,000 euros to a Serbian city hard hit by the pandemic.
© 2020 AFP