Nick Kyrgios has issued another withering condemnation of Novak Djokovic’s controversial charity tennis tournament after the world No.1 revealed he had himself tested positive for COVID-19 following the event.
Djokovic has been criticised for organising the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Australian star Kyrgios on Monday declaring it a “boneheaded decision” on Twitter.
Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki have already tested positive after playing in the Adria Tour exhibition before Djokovic confirmed on Tuesday he and his wife Jelena had returned positive tests after arriving back in Belgrade following the event in Badar, Croatia, although their children have not.
And with video footage also emerging on social media of the Serb star dancing in a nightclub with some of the other players, Kyrgios let rip on Twitter again on Tuesday.
“Prayers up to all the players that have contracted Covid- 19,” Kyrgios said, retweeting a video of the players dancing shirtless in Belgrade.
“Don’t @ me for anything I’ve done that has been ‘irresponsible’ or classified as ‘stupidity’ – this takes the cake.”
Djokovic’s fitness coach Marco Panichi and Dimitrov’s coach Christian Groh have also tested positive.
“The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested,” Djokovic said in his statement, adding that he was not showing any symptoms.
“My result is positive, just as Jelena’s (wife), while the results of our children are negative.
“I am extremely sorry for each individual case of infection. I hope that it will not complicate anyone’s health situation and that everyone will be fine. I will remain in self-isolation for the next 14 days, and repeat the test in five days.”
The organisers said that the remainder of the Adria Tour had been cancelled, the two-day event on July 3-4 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and the planned exhibition match with Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in Sarajevo on July 5.
The tournament featured packed stands during the opening leg in Belgrade, players hugging at the net, playing basketball, posing for pictures and attending press conferences together.
The professional circuit was halted in early March as nations closed borders and imposed lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus.
Djokovic, who earlier said he faces a dilemma if a vaccine becomes compulsory for players to compete when tennis resumes, insisted that the idea behind his tournament was to raise funds for players in need.
“Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” said Djokovic, who is also the head of the players council of the men’s ATP Tour.
“Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.”
