World number three Dominic Thiem has acknowledged tennis players at the ill-fated Adria Tour made “a mistake” after Novak Djokovic and three other participants contracted coronavirus. Thiem took part in the Belgrade leg of the exhibition event organised by Djokovic where social distancing was minimal and matches were played in front of thousands of fans.
World number one Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki all tested positive to Covid-19 after an event where players embraced across the net, played basketball and went to a nightclub.
Thiem, who left for an exhibition tournament in France after Belgrade, says he has tested negative five times since leaving the Balkans. “I was shocked when I got the news from the Adria Tour,” he wrote on social media in his first public reaction since the tournament was cancelled on Sunday.
“We played without any audience for weeks, so we have been more than happy about the fans at the event. We trusted the Serbian government’s coronavirus rules, but we have been too optimistic.”
The Austrian continued: “Our behaviour was a mistake, we acted too euphorically. I am extremely sorry. I’ve been tested five times in the past 10 days and each time and the result was always negative.” 
Djokovic, 33, has come in for heavy criticism over the debacle, saying on Tuesday that he was “so deeply sorry” that the tournament “caused harm”.
His wife Jelena has also tested positive. The affair has raised concern over the planned restart of professional tennis in August, including the US Open which is scheduled to begin on August 31.


Images from Adria Tour 
‘disappointing’, says 
Wimbledon chief
Images of players hugging at the net, playing basketball together and partying at Djokovic’s charity exhibition in Serbia and Croatia were “disappointing” and tennis must learn its lesson, outgoing Wimbledon chief Richard Lewis has said.
Lewis, who will step down as the CEO of All England Lawn Tennis Club in July, told British media he hoped everyone made a speedy recovery but that the mistakes of the event must not be repeated. 
“The images were disappointing and I think that... what needs to come out of it is everybody involved — not just players, but administrators, organisers, entourages — understands that the protocols, rules and regulations are in place for a reason. That’s a really important lesson to learn.”
The pandemic forced the suspension of the professional season in early March and the 2020 Wimbledon championships were then cancelled. 
The US Open is the next Grand Slam on the calendar and organisers plan stringent measures to keep those taking part safe. Some top players, including Djokovic, had initially called those measures “extreme”.
With the Serbian world number one heading the men’s players council, Lewis urged athletes to play a bigger leadership role. “I would hope from an organisers’ point of view — let’s say the US Open and Roland Garros, but also the other international tournaments — that protocols will be easier to enforce and observed than they otherwise might have been,” said Lewis.
“I sincerely hope that when international tennis tournaments resume, the sport will be more disciplined and follow the protocols in place at whatever tournament is being staged at the time.”