Dominic Thiem again hits back at Adria Tour critics, insisting Novak Djokovic ‘didn’t break any law’
World No 3 Dominic Thiem has again come to the defence of Novak Djokovic following the controversial Adria Tour, saying “he didn’t force us” to take part.
The exhibition tournament was Djokovic’s brainchild with the aim to raise funds for humanitarian projects in the Balkans region.
However, it was cancelled midway through after several players, including Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov, and non-playing staff returned positive tests for the coronavirus.
Australian Nick Kyrgios was critical of the Adria Tour during the whole process and was quite outspoken about events on social media.
Thiem, who tested negative for Covid-19, has previously stood up for Djokovic and he has again jumped to the Serb’s defence.
“It was unfair to him because he didn’t break any law and he didn’t force us,” he told CNN Sport.
“He didn’t force any player to come there. He didn’t force any player to interact with the fans. It was our own decision. The whole event was for a very good cause as well.”
Serbia didn’t have any social distancing regulations in place during the tournament and players were seen hugging each other, playing basketball and football matches while the fans who attended matches were also in close contact with each other.
The Austrian acknowledged that mistakes were made, but feels it is time to move on.
“It was obviously a mistake from everybody but it’s a long time ago now really and everybody who got positive there is healthy again, which is a very good sign as well,” he said.
“In reality, we saw happy fans, we saw happy kids and then we kind of forgot to keep the distance, to not take pictures, to not hug the kids and it was a mistake.
“Everybody regrets it, of course, but I think, at the same time, it’s fine now.”
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