Top
Djokovic looks concerned at ATP Finals
Australian Open, Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic, Tennis News

Novak Djokovic wrong to challenge coronavirus protocols, insists Dominic Thiem


Novak Djokovic was wrong to try to interfere with the Australian Open quarantine protocols, says Dominic Thiem.

Djokovic has come under intense criticism for the reported ‘demands’ he made to Tennis Australia to improve conditions for players forced into hard quarantine.

Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley has since clarified it was ‘suggestions’ that were made, not ‘demands,’ while Djokovic has described it as a ‘brainstorming’ session.

But, while Thiem believes Djokovic has often been the victim of unfair criticism in the past, he isn’t so sure with this particular case.

“He received unnecessary criticism a lot in the past,” Thiem said of Djokovic.

“This topic, I don’t really know. He tried to help the other players in Melbourne but in Australia they did a great job with corona.

“It almost doesn’t exist here any more so Australia wants to keep it that way.

“I can understand the health department and Tennis Australia that they are super, super careful and that they want the whole plane with the positive cases in quarantine.

“You have to understand that, even if it’s so unlucky for the players who were on that plane.

“That’s the risk that we took and we knew that. Novak only wanted to help but it’s also obvious that it got denied.”


By
0

Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.