Novak Djokovic is the only one who needs to apologize: Dominic Thiem's manager
Novak Djokovic is the biggest antagonist in tennis right now. Ever since his Adria Tour project became a COVID-19 hotspot and led to several players and staff contracting the virus, Djokovic has been attracting criticism from all corners.
However, Novak Djokovic is not the only player against whom tennis fans have an ax to grind. Players like Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem have also come under fire for choosing to have participated in the badly-organized exhibition.
A few hours ago, Dominic Thiem issued a statement on his Instagram handle, apologizing for the mistakes on his part. He also said he has been tested five times in the last 10 days, coming out negative each time.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan directed his ire at Grigor Dimitrov yesterday, saying that that the Bulgarian had damaged the reputation of Djokovic's family. Srdjan believes Dimitrov was responsible for bringing the virus to the tournament, and that the situation wouldn't have blown up if he had got tested in time.
But there are others who believe Novak Djokovic is the one who has to take the biggest share of the responsibility for the disaster. In a chat with Der Standard, Dominic Thiem's manager Hervig Straka hit out at Djokovic and the Adria Tour in no uncertain terms. Straka said that the Serb is the only one who needs to apologize, because he and his family misled the players into thinking there would be stricter safety protocols at the tournament.
Novak Djokovic's tournament was a publicity show: Dominic Thiem's manager
Dominic Thiem has been criticized by fans since the COVID-19 outbreak at Adria Tour, as he chose to travel to Nice for Patrick Mouratoglou's project Ultimate Tennis Showdown. However, it is to be noted that the safety precautions at UTS are far better than those at Novak Djokovic's exhibition.
Talking about the decision of Dominic Thiem and other players to play the event, Straka said, "The players are independent, the event was not in our area. I have to blame Novak Djokovic mainly. Okay, the others took part, but he was behind it.
"Originally from honorable motives, the focus was on charity. But it went in the wrong direction, was misused as a publicity show," he added.
The tennis manager also weighed in on the night-out at Belgrade, where Novak Djokovic danced bare-chested with his fellow players.
"It is clear that it was nonsense," Straka said. "Everyone knows it was stupid and no public apology helps. The only one who has to apologize is Novak Djokovic because he staged everything."
Thiem's manager also believes that as the President of the ATP Player Council, Novak Djokovic should have been more responsible while organizing the event.
Novak Djokovic & Co didn't keep their promise: Thiem's manager
The horror show at Adria Tour has made a lot of people question how so many fans were allowed into the stadium, with no hint of social distancing. Straka has now said that the players were misled into thinking that there would be fewer attendees, and that Novak Djokovic and his family didn't follow through on their guarantees.
"Beforehand, I insisted that we get clear safety guidelines. It was required that a maximum of 1000 spectators were to be allowed to come, and social distancing was to be guaranteed."
The manager said he had only agreed to let Dominic Thiem play the tournament if these conditions were fulfilled. Sadly, the conditions were not met by the tournament organizers, and Straka was left disappointed.
"I was annoyed. They did not stick to the guidelines," Thiem's manager said, as about 4,000 spectators were allowed in the stadium by the tournament organizers.
Straka added that every player put themselves on the line for Novak Djokovic, and suggested that they wouldn't have participated in the tournament if anyone else had been the host.
"The players drove for Djokovic's sake. He kept calling them himself. When a tennis legend calls, you just have to come," Dominic Thiem's manager said.