Adria Tour Explained

Location:Belgrade, Serbia
Zadar, Croatia
Surface:Clay / outdoor

The Adria Tour was an exhibition tennis tour held in June 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia and Zadar, Croatia. It was organized by the world No. 1 ranked player Novak Djokovic during the ATP Tour's shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event fell under heavy criticism due to its lack of social distancing procedures, and allowing a full crowd, unlike the simultaneous Ultimate Tennis Showdown. A planned Montenegrin leg was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.[1] During the Croatian leg, Grigor Dimitrov, one of the marquee players, announced that he had tested positive for the virus, leading to the event being abandoned.[2] Borna Ćorić, Dimitrov's last opponent, tested positive the next day.[3] Viktor Troicki and Djokovic himself tested positive over the next two days.[4] [5]

Tournament

After the ATP announced on 12 March that all tennis events would be suspended for at least six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Novak Djokovic proposed an exhibition tournament in his home region of the Balkans from 13 June to 5 July.[6] The schedule and locations proposed were:

Unusually for events during the pandemic, fans were allowed to attend, but organizers said that a one-meter distance between each spectator would be enforced.[7] This was not the case during the Serbian leg, however, which was tightly packed.[8]

Format

The matches proposed were a shorter version of tennis called Fast4 Tennis where the first player to win 4 games wins the set, with 2 sets winning the match. Each stop on the tour followed a round-robin system between players in two pools, with the pool winners playing in a final.

Participants

The following is a list of players for the tournament:[9]

width=180PlayerRank
Novak Djokovic1
Dominic Thiem3
Alexander Zverev7
Andrey Rublev14
Grigor Dimitrov19
Dušan Lajović23
Filip Krajinović32
Borna Ćorić33
Marin Čilić37
Damir Džumhur107
Danilo Petrović157
Viktor Troicki184
Peđa Krstin246
Nino Serdarušić299

The singles competitors secured for the event were top players, compared to other unofficial tournaments around the same time.[10]

Finals

In the Belgrade tournament, Dominic Thiem defeated surprise finalist Filip Krajinović in three sets in the first leg. The cancelled final of the second leg was to be between Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev.

LocationChampionRunner-upScore
Belgrade Dominic Thiem Filip Krajinović4–3(7–2), 2–4, 4–2
Zadar Novak Djokovic vs. Andrey RublevFinal cancelled[11]
not determinedTournament abandoned[12]
Banja LukaTournament abandoned[13]
SarajevoTournament abandoned

Aftermath

It was revealed on 21 June that Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for COVID-19 after participating in the Zadar event and then returning to his home in Monaco.[14] The announcement by Dimitrov on Instagram took place shortly before the final was to be played in Zadar, with the crowd awaiting the players to enter the court. After Dimitrov's announcement, the final was cancelled.[11]

Social media posts and photographs of the players showed them hugging, shaking hands, playing basketball, and dancing together during the event, as well as during the previous event a week and a half earlier in Belgrade.[15]

Borna Ćorić, who played against Dimitrov at the Zadar event and was seen to hug Dimitrov before the game, also revealed on 22 June that he tested positive for COVID-19.[16] Viktor Troicki and his pregnant wife Aleksandra announced they had tested positive hours later.

On 23 June, Djokovic announced that both he and his wife Jelena had also tested positive for COVID-19.[17]

On 26 June, Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanišević confirmed that he had tested positive for the virus as well.[18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "It's Hard To Explain To People" - Novak Djokovic Defends Decision To Have Crowds At The Adria Tour. Aryan. Sharma. June 21, 2020.
  2. Web site: Grigor Dimitrov tests positive for coronavirus after feeling unwell at Adria Tour. June 21, 2020. Eurosport.
  3. Web site: Borna Coric also tests positive for coronavirus after Grigor Dimitrov case. June 22, 2020. Eurosport.
  4. Web site: 2020-06-23. Djokovic has tested positive for coronavirus. 2020-06-23. ESPN.com. en.
  5. Web site: 2020-06-22. Viktor Troicki becomes fifth Adria Tour participant to test positive for coronavirus - report. 2020-06-23. Eurosport.
  6. Web site: Novak Djokovic twitter post. May 22, 2020. Twitter.
  7. Web site: Exhibition events fill void during tennis shutdown - but will any stick around when normality returns?. June 9, 2020. The National.
  8. Web site: Stojanović. Dušan. 2020-06-12. Djokovic defends packing the stands at tennis charity tour event in Serbia. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200624003604/https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/12/djokovic-defends-packed-stands-at-tennis-charity-tour-event/ . 2020-06-24 . 2020-06-23. Press Herald.
  9. Web site: UČESNICI TURNIRA . theadriatour.com . 27 June 2020.
  10. Web site: Zverev joins Djokovic, Thiem, Dimitrov in playing the Adria Tour. May 26, 2020. Tennis Tonic.
  11. Web site: Adria Tour final cancelled. Adria Tour. 21 June 2020.
  12. Web site: Adria Tour event in Montenegro cancelled. Adria Tour. 13 June 2020. 24 June 2020. 13 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200613180348/https://theadriatour.com/en/adria-tour-event-in-montenegro-cancelled/. dead.
  13. Web site: The Organizing Committee of the Adria Tour made a decision on the cancellation of further events. Adria Tour. 23 June 2020. 24 June 2020. 25 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200625180506/https://theadriatour.com/en/the-organizing-committee-of-the-adria-tour-made-a-decision-on-the-cancellation-of-further-events/. dead.
  14. Web site: Grigor Dimitrov 'so sorry' after testing positive for coronavirus. June 21, 2020. The Guardian.
  15. Web site: 'Shocking': Novak Djokovic raises eyebrows ignoring restrictions at charity tennis event. June 10, 2020. Nine News.
  16. Web site: Nick Kyrgios calls Adria Tour 'bone-headed' after positive coronavirus tests. June 22, 2020. BBC.
  17. Web site: Coronavirus: Novak Djokovic tests positive for COVID-19 . . 23 June 2020. Sky News . 23 June 2020 .
  18. Web site: PA Media. 2020-06-26. Novak Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanisevic tests positive for coronavirus. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200626123311/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/26/novak-djokovics-coach-goran-ivanisevic-tests-positive-for-coronavirus . 2020-06-26 . The Guardian. en.