We saw happy fans & forgot to keep distance: Dominic Thiem on Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour
World No. 3 Dominic Thiem has once again defended Novak Djokovic over his decision to conduct the now-infamous Adria Tour in the Balkans. Thiem reiterated that the Serb didn't force any player to participate in the tournament, and also that the interactions with the fans were accidental.
The 2020 Australian Open runner-up had emerged as the winner of the Belgrade leg. Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev then made it to the final of the second leg in Zadar before the competition was called off.
In an interview with CNN Sport on Tuesday (21 July), Dominic Thiem spoke at length about the Adria Tour and its after-effects, and how much everyone regrets what happened.
Novak Djokovic didn't break any law: Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem has been very active on the court even during the COVID-19 break. He participated in Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour, won the Generali Austrian Pro Series, organized Thiem's 7, competed in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, and recently won the Bett1Aces tournament in Berlin.
While all the other tournaments took place without any controversy, Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour attracted criticism from all corners of the world because the players and the officials didn't follow social distancing rules. The tennis stars even celebrated their success at a local night club, after which four players - including Novak Djokovic himself - contracted the dreaded coronavirus.
Dominic Thiem had earlier apologized to the fans through an Instagram post. In his latest interview, Thiem clarified that Novak Djokovic hadn't forced any player to behave the way they did. He defended the 17-time Grand Slam Champion by saying:
"It was unfair to him because he didn't break any law and he didn't force us. 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."
Dominic Thiem admits the players got carried away
Grigor Dimitrov was the first player to test positive for COVID-19. Subsequently, the tests of Novak Djokovic, Viktor Troicki and Borna Coric also produced positive results. Even Novak Djokovic's wife, Jelena, contracted the virus.
Fortunately, none of the cases proved to be dangerous and all of them have recovered now. Dominic Thiem accepted their mistakes and continued:
"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."
The Austrian player felt that they got carried away after seeing the happy fans in the stadium.
"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," he concluded.
Dominic Thiem had recently stated that he was hopeful of traveling to the United States next month to participate in the hardcourt swing. The two-time French Open finalist will be looking to win his maiden Slam this year, at either the US Open or Roland Garros.