Serbian football legend Dejan Stankovic defends Novak Djokovic

Serbian football legend Dejan Stankovic has come to the defense of fellow compatriot Novak Djokovic as he insists the world No. 1 didn't have bad intentions with his Adria Tour project.

A total of four players who participated at the Adria Tour -- including 17-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic -- tested positive for the coronavirus. 

The first player to publicly reveal he was coronavirus positive was world No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov, while Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki soon followed.

On Tuesday, Djokovic announced he and his wife tested positive but fortunately the tests of their kids came back as negative.

The Adria Tour featured packed crowds and there wasn't social distancing -- but the organizers claimed they didn't breach any of the safety measures issued by the governments in Serbia and Croatia.

Djokovic has received a lot of criticism for the events that happened at the Adria Tour and some have been calling for him to be sacked from his role as president for the ATP Player Council.

'Novak Djokovic apologized and I hope everyone recovers'

"I see in recent days that a lot of dust has been raised around my friend, brother, Novak Djokovic, and the fact that the Covid-19 virus appeared on his Adria Tour. First of all, I want to wish everyone who is positive a successful recovery and that everything goes smoothly. I am sure that everyone will get out of this without major difficulties," Stankovic said, per Tennis Tonic.

"(Novak) said that he misjudged, he raised his hand, he admitted, why now a large number of people and the media are racing in ‘dragging goats in the mud’.

"That’s why I want to say: ‘I’m not with you, you can’t change the image after one wrong assessment because there are thousands of pluses and tons of humanity on the other side of the scale.’

"For me, he has always been a friend who is there when I need him, he helped my fellow citizens in Italy immeasurably during the coronavirus, without even mentioning helping Serbia and the work of his Foundation.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic and his wife Jelena are feeling well, as are the rest of the players who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Several Serbian football stars have come to the defense of Novak Djokovic as previously Marko Grujic and Nemanja Matic spoke positively of the world No. 1.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YCKekc