After a fortuitous incident-free first leg in Belgrade, the event ran into trouble during the second leg in Zadar, Croatia. Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, Viktor Troicki and Novak Djokovic himself all tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the cancellation of the exhibition tournament.
In the aftermath of the fiasco, Novak Djokovic has had to cope with a plethora of brickbats from fellow players, experts and fans. Many have slammed him for his ‘reckless’ decision to host a tennis tournament without precautions in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, there are others like Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marion Bartoli who have stood by the beleaguered Serb. Another such player who has come out in support of Novak Djokovic is his compatriot Janko Tipsarevic.
During a podcast with Craig Shapiro, the former World No. 8 lauded Novak Djokovic and team for organizing the tournament at short notice but acknowledged that the timing of the event could have been better.
Tipsarevic also believes that Novak Djokovic didn’t contravene any local regulations, as the Adria Tour only went ahead after receiving the go-ahead from the governments of Serbia and Croatia.
The recently retired player went on to say that because of the stringent lockdown in place, the number of COVID-19 infected people in the region was low. That in turn gave rise to a perception that the worst of the pandemic in the country was over.
Novak Djokovic felt bad at getting grilled by the media: Janko Tipsarevic
On being asked if he had spoken to Novak Djokovic after the player tested positive for COVID-19, Tipsarevic replied in the affirmative. He also said that the World No. 1 felt ‘quite bad’ due to the grilling he received from the media.
Janko Tipsarevic admitted that the participating players at the Adria Tour were careless, as they hugged and shook hands with each other on the court and partied at nightclubs. But the former player added that everyone had been lulled into thinking that COVID-19 had subsided in the country.
The Serb also gave the example of a football game attracting a mammoth crowd right before the first leg of the Adria Tour in Belgrade.
While acknowledging that the visit to the nightclub was perhaps uncalled for, Tipsarevic maintained that Novak Djokovic has faced a disproportionate amount of flak.
Tipsarevic further said that Novak Djokovic has plenty of experience of being treated by the media unfairly due to the political image of his country.
If the other superstars had done this, they would not have been treated the way Novak Djokovic has been treated: Tipsarevic
Without naming Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, Tipsarevic alluded to the two superstars and said that had a similar tournament been organised by either of them, they wouldn’t have faced the amount of criticism that Novak Djokovic has faced.
Tipsarevic further said that while Novak Djokovic is not detested everywhere in the world, the crowds at Wimbledon and the US Open are ‘disgusting’ with their treatment of him.
On being asked if the top guys like Novak Djokovic who have a global appeal and audience need to be more careful in their actions, Tipsarevic gave a guarded response.
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