Novak Djokovic’s parents defended their son on Wednesday and blamed another tennis player for spreading the coronavirus at a series of exhibition matches hosted by the top-ranked player.
Djokovic and his wife tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. The 17-time Grand Slam champion then apologized online for organizing the Adria Tour events, which brought together professional players from various countries to play matches in Serbia and Croatia.
Thousands of spectators attended the matches and no social distancing was observed.
Djokovic’s outspoken father blamed the cancellation of the tour on Grigor Dimitrov, one of the three other players to test positive in the last few days. There is no evidence to suggest Dimitrov spread the virus to others.
“Why did it happen? Because that man probably came sick, who knows from where,” Srdjan Djokovic told RTL Croatia TV, according to The Associated Press. “He didn’t test here, he tested somewhere else ... I think that’s not fair.
“He inflicted damage to both Croatia and to us as a family in Serbia,” Srdjan Djokovic said. “Nobody is feeling well because of this situation.”
Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, was the first Adria Tour participant to test positive for the virus. He was followed by Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki.
The infections raised questions about the full-fledged return of competitive tennis, including the scheduled US Open in August.
