Novak Djokovic attacked the media, saying there was a witch hunt against him and admitting that he did not feel remorse for his raped Adria Tour.
The world no. 1, who is known as an anti-waxxer, has received enormous criticism over his decision to host the event in June in Serbia and Croatia. It was scrapped when players and staff, including themselves, tested positive for coronavirus. Players were not required to observe socially remotely and were filmed playing basketball and dancing together on a stage at a nightclub.
Djokovic, who is currently preparing for the US Open starting on August 31, was beaten along with Covid-19, along with his wife, Jelena. Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki were also diagnosed with the virus.
Djokovic has been outraged by media criticism of the event and has even said he would repeat it.
“I don’t think I did anything wrong,” he said. “I feel sorry for people who were infected. Do I feel guilty for someone infected from that point in Serbia, Croatia and region? Of course not. How can you blame one individual for everything? ”
“We were trying to do something about the exact intentions,” he told the New York Times. ‘Yes, there were some steps that could have been taken otherwise, but would I be blamed forever for making a mistake?
‘I mean, OK, if this is the way, fine, I’ll accept it, because that’s the only thing I can do.
“If I had the chance to do the Adria Tour again, I would do it again. It’s like a witch hunt. ”
Djokovic decided to travel to New York for the US Open because the 17-time Grand Slam champion did not want to pass on the chance to close at Roger Federer’s record of 20.
Federer will not be at Flushing Meadows after taking the year off to recover from knee surgery, while defending champion Rafael Nadal has joined a number of top teams in refusing to travel to the US due to concerns about the pandemic.
“I can not say that it is the main reason I am here, but it is one of the reasons,” Djokovic said. ‘I need to think about myself and my health and my fitness and whether my team is OK to be here. Once that was checked, I also felt responsible as a top player to be here. It is important for our sport to continue. ”
Djokovic will play in the Western & Southern Open, a warm-up tournament that began Thursday in New York.
