Nicolas Kiefer: Zverev e Thiem should have declined the Adria Tour invite

Former World No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer has criticised the players who attended the Adria Tour, saying that they should have been better informed and advised not to play in an event without the required safety & social distancing norms. 

According to L'Equipe, the German says,  “Zverev and Thiem are well advised. Why did nobody tell them in advance: "It's a nice invitation, but you won't go? You really have to wonder if they have anything in mind other than tennis. You can take the lead and wonder what a Zverev, a Thiem and many other players thought during such an event. Viktor Troicki even came with his pregnant wife. With a little common sense, you wouldn't have done it! Each player must be mature enough and experienced enough to assess the situation more critically. This will have serious consequences.  The French Open was being planned to be played in front of spectators. Will the risk not be too high after these events?"

Nicolas Kiefer on Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem

Several players, including World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Viktor Troicki and Brona Coric have tested positive for the coronavirus after playing in the Adria Tour where players and fans were seen mixing freely and did not adhere to social distancing guidelines. Zverev and Thiem have both tested negative for the virus at this time.

Nicolas Kiefer reached the semifinals of the 2006 Australian Open and won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Kiefer's career-high singles ranking was world No. 4, achieved in January 2000. He won six career singles titles during his career and won over $7 million in career prize money. The 42 year old Kiefer also has his own fashion company after retiring. Kiefer and partner Rainer Schüttler were beaten by Chile's Fernando González/ Nicolás Massu in five sets in the final at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Dominic Thiem has a career-high ATP ranking is world No. 3 and is the second highest-ranked Austrian player in history, behind Thomas Muster (World No. 1 in 1996). He has won 16 ATP Tour singles titles, including the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, and reached three Grand Slam finals. Alexander Zverev was the champion at the 2018 ATP Finals, which had made him the youngest winner at the year-end championship in a decade. He has won 11 ATP titles in singles and two in doubles.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3g2OtLD