The scandal in the world of tennis grows: two other stars with coronavirus after the exhibitions of Djokovic

Luciana Aranguiz

06/22/2020 - 17:49

• Clarín.com
• sports

The alarm is on in the world of tennis. And it sounds very strong. Because there are already five cases of coronavirus that the Adria Tour left until now , that exhibition circuit that Novak Djokovic organized and promoted. The latest confirmed was that of the Serbian Viktor Troicki, who according to reports from his country received the positive result of his test on Monday, as did his wife Aleksandra, who is pregnant. Troicki, who contested the first stage of the exhibitions in Belgrade, joined Grigor Dimitrov, the first to announce that he had caught the virus; Borna Coric; Kristijan Groh, coach of the Bulgarian; and Marko Paniki, physical trainer of Djokovic, the other infected, so far. 

Thus, in just a few hours, the  Adria Tour  became a focus of contagion from the virus, which began to expand in the world of tennis and threatens the resumption of professional circuits, planned for August. 

When social isolation measures began to relax in Europe, the door was opened for the return of tennis. Djokovic took the lead in the Adria Tour , which was planned as the happy return to the courts of several great stars and the public, but ended up positioning the world number one at the center of the controversy and installing a doubt in the environment of sport White. Is professional tennis really ready to resume its season?

The first signs that something could go wrong came as soon as the activities scheduled for the event started. After meeting in Belgrade from different countries, Djokovic, Dimitrov, Troicki, the German Alexander Zverev, the Austrian Dominic Thiem and some other players played a football match with friends of the Serbian and other personalities from the preview of the first matches. sport of that country.

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Amazing time on the pitch with these guys @adriatourofficial 🤙🏼💪🏼⚽️ #draganjovanovic @damirdzumhur @copedj @viktortroicki @djokomare #carlosgomezherrera @savomilosevic_official @ nevenmarkovic1 @grigordimitrov @ alexzverev123 @domithiem @dutzee @ @ dutzee

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Jun 11, 2020 at 10:05 PDT

During this "minced" , the players did not worry about respecting the social distancing that still prevails in much of Europe. There were no masks, but there were hugs to celebrate goals, clashes of hands and group photos. With everyone, until then, smiling.

A few days later, on Saturday the 13th, they met again at the Novak Tennis Center , a complex financed by the family of the winner of 17 Grand Slams that borders the Danube River in the Serbian capital. There the first mini-tournament of the Adria Tour was held . And the criticism of a good part of the tennis world, which had begun to appear after that friendly soccer match, became greater.

It is that the players did not seem to take any kind of precaution against COVID-19 in those days. Furthermore, since the Serbian government had already enabled the holding of events with a maximum of one thousand spectators, the club's stands were full. And although in the previous it had been reported that each person would receive a chinstrap upon entering the property, almost no one used it. Not to mention the social distance, which was conspicuous by its absence in the stands.

Zverev, Djokovic, Dimitrov and Thiem at the press conference prior to the start of the Adria Tour. REUTERS Photo / Marko Djurica

Before the start of the games, the traditional Kid's Day was celebrated and during all the days, the tennis players agreed to take photos with the people and sign autographs. There were also no gloves or chinstraps for the ball kids or judges. 

"I know there was a lot of criticism of the tournament. People wondered why there was an audience, why there was no social distance between them or, directly, why an event like this was taking place in the midst of a pandemic as harsh as the one we are going through. "It is difficult to explain to them that the situation is really different depending on where you are," Djokovic had defended himself that weekend.

Although chinstraps were handed out at the entrance to the Belgrade club, only a few fans wore them. AP Photo / Darko Vojinovic

And he added: " We have never crossed any line . Both in Serbia and in the surrounding countries we have been following from the first day the rules and measures ordered by government institutions and public health. We have gone through this whole process and the result has been fantastic. "

"We have never crossed any line," Djokovic defended himself during that first leg of the Adria Tour, which Thiem won. REUTERS Photo / Marko Djurica

After the end of that first stage, which Thiem won, everyone gathered to celebrate at a Belgrade venue. At the party, which lasted well into the morning, they were seen dancing and enjoying themselves, without any care. 

On Monday the 13th, the following day, it was learned that Nikola Jankovic, a basketball player from the Belgrade Partizán, had tested positive for coronavirus. A few days earlier, the power forward had been in contact with Djokovic in an event in which a prevention protocol had not been implemented either. Beyond the voices that branded him irresponsible, the Serb was silently called and traveled to Zadar, Croatia, for the second stop on the circuit, as planned.

In the run-up to the second leg in Zadar, there was a basketball friendly. Dimitrov and Djokovic did not take care of the distances and days later, the Bulgarian announced that he is infected with coronavirus. AP Photo / Zvonko Kucelin

As in Belgrade, on the Zadar court there was no social distance between the spectators. AP Photo / Zvonko Kucelin

In that city Coric and Marin Cilic joined the group of stars that arrived from Belgrade. There was a friendly basketball game in the run-up to the contest, lots of tennis over the weekend, people enjoying themselves in the stands and, again, no measure to lessen the chances of contagion. Everything went smoothly, until Sunday.

The announcement by Dimitrov, who reported on social media that he had tested positive for coronavirus, but was in good health and back at his home in Monaco, blew up the bomb. The organizers immediately canceled the final of the tournament that Djokovic and Russia's Andrey Rublev were supposed to play. The Bulgarian authorities called all those who had been in contact in recent days with number 19 in the world to isolate themselves. And all the players who had been involved in the tournament underwent controls to rule out infections.

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Hi Everyone-I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19. I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during these past days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions. I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering. Thanks for your support and please stay safe and healthy. GD

A post shared by Grigor Dimitrov (@grigordimitrov) on Jun 21, 2020 at 10:36 PDT

This Monday, Coric - who had played with Dimitrov on Saturday - confirmed on his Instagram account that he is also infected. Later news came of the positives from the Dimitrov coach and Djokovic's fitness trainer. And finally, the confirmation that Troicki had also been infected.

Zverev, Cilic and Rublev said that they tested negative, but that they will still carry out a 14-day quarantine as a precaution, following the doctors' recommendations.

All of them apologized to people who could have put them at risk during the tour. "What is happening now in the world is our responsibility. There is a global problem and it affects us all. We need to help reduce the spread of this virus," Rublev wrote on Twitter, with a message that was repeated - more words, fewer words. - his colleagues. 

Coric played a game on Saturday with Dimitrov. This Monday, he confirmed that he tested positive for coronavirus, like the Bulgarian. AP Photo / Zvonko Kucelin

Thiem, who after winning in Belgrade traveled to France to join another exhibition ( The Ultimate Tennis Showdown , organized by Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of Serena Williams), had been tested in Austria, he did it again when he arrived in Nice for that contest and he did it again on his return to Vienna. All of their controls were negative.

What happened to Djokovic? According to a statement from the Adria Tour, since neither he nor anyone in his environment had symptoms, he chose not to perform the test in Zadar. But he did take the test after returning to Belgrade and is awaiting the results, which would arrive on Tuesday. He has not yet commented on the situation.

The carefree attitude with which the Serbian and company approached the exhibitions did not sit well with some of their colleagues, who had no problem publicly reproaching them for their irresponsibility.

Nick Kyrgios was one of the first to raise his voice. "It was a crazy decision to go ahead with the exhibition. I wish the boys a speedy recovery, but this is what happens when you ignore all the protocols. THIS IS NOT A JOKE," wrote the Australian on Twitter.

🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️ Boneheaded decision to go ahead with the 'exhibition' speedy recovery fellas, but that's what happens when you disregard all protocols. This IS NOT A JOKE. https://t.co/SUdxfijkbK

Andy Murray, who will compete this week in the exhibition "Battle of the Brits" , organized by the British Tennis Federation, also drew attention to the lack of preventive measures taken in Belgrade and Zadar.

"All countries obviously have different rules. But I think once players and team members from different parts of the world come to your country, you should make sure you take all necessary measures and all possible precautions to try to avoid a situation like the one they are having there. Hopefully, it is nothing serious. It will be a kind of lesson for all of us to realize that this is extremely serious and to take all possible measures in each place, "the Scotsman analyzed in a press conference prior to that event.

In the same tournament, the English Daniel Evans was very hard on Djokovic. "I think Djokovic should set a better example, especially as chairman of the ATP Players Council. He should not have held a players' party and danced with each other. He should have felt some responsibility for this event and how it has been organized. "he assured.

Meanwhile, American Mitchell Kruegue, 195th in the ranking, said, referring to the Serbian: "Stellar leader. It is possible that these wild decisions put the US Open at risk. Which means that this will also affect more than 300 players. No one is greater than sport. "

The Serbian, who is the president of the ATP Players Council, was the center of criticism from fans and other players, for having organized the exhibitions. EFE / EPA / Andrej Cukic photo

Will this coronavirus outbreak really affect the ATP, WTA, and ITF plans to resume their seasons in August? The organization that governs men's tennis hopes not to.

"The ATP wishes a full recovery to the players and members of its staff who tested positive for COVID-19 after playing the Aria Tour. The ATP continues to demand strict and responsible compliance with social distance and all measures to prevent expansion of the virus, "the association said in a statement.

And he commented: "In planning for the return of the season on August 14, we have developed a comprehensive protocol to reduce the risk. And we will continue to work and adjust the precautions and measures according to the medical information that appears, always prioritizing the health when making any decision. "

Beyond the wishes of the ATP, it will be necessary to wait to know what will happen with the return to the courts and also with the rest of the Adria Tour and other European exhibitions in which some of the players involved had to participate. At the moment, the main concern is knowing the true extent of the outbreak and awaiting the speedy recovery of those infected. Because the virus began to spread in the world of tennis. The alarm is on and the scandal grows.