'Djokovic has empathy, just like Roger Federer and Nadal', says former World No. 1

The Adria Tour debacle provided a chance for all Novak Djokovic's detractors to question the World number 1 for his behavior. Numerous colleagues and experts also felt the need to express their opinion on the 17-time Grand Slam champion, guilty of having endangered the health of many people without taking the slightest care to respect the rules on social distancing. The last in chronological order to speak was Gustavo Kuerten, who organized an exhibition with Nole in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. During a chat with the Brazilian Flavio Canto on the show 'Vencendo Juntos', the three-time French Open champion has assuming that Djokovic should have avoided such a fall in style by virtue of his maturity and experience.

Kuerten on Novak Djokovic

"It was a surprise, because we don’t expect it from our idols," Gustavo Kuerten said. "It was a total mess. It is important to separate the person from the idol, who has a big margin to make mistakes, but we have to think about the size of the error. I think he has already done the reflection exercise. We have to get the greatest possible benefits from this error for the next tournaments. Novak Djokovic has empathy, just like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. There are countries that are at a lower risk level and we have no formula ready for tennis in times of coronavirus." The new-look ATP Tour calendar intends to resume on Friday 14 August with the Citi Open, the ATP 500 event in Washington, D.C., followed by the Western & Southern Open, the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 event, to be hosted at Flushing Meadows, in the lead up to the US Open (31 August – 13 September). Following New York, the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, ATP Masters 1000 events on clay in Madrid and Rome, respectively, will take place in September ahead of Roland Garros in Paris (27 September – 11 October), which will also feature a singles qualifying draw the week prior. The calendar is subject to change and continued assessments will be made relating to health & safety, international travel policies, and governmental approval of sporting events. All events will be held under strict guidelines related to health & safety, social distancing, reduced or no fans on-site. The ATP Challenger Tour will also resume from the week of 17 August, in parallel with the ITF World Tennis Tour.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3eYBx9v