Novak Djokovic fully in training: "Privilege of having my own tennis facility at my house"
Alexander Zverev will also play a tournament again for the first time on the Adriatic tour in the Balkans planned by Novak Djokovic, who is ranked number one in the world - without a fee for a good cause.
by SID
last edit: May 28, 2020, 05:24 pm
Wolfgang Thiem has great respect. Before Alexander Zverev. "Sascha works very hard and very determined," said the father of the world rankings third Dominic Thiem in an interview with tennisnet.com : "This break will bring him an incredible amount." He does not reveal how Thiem senior knows this, since Zverev has been training exclusively in the USA since the beginning of the corona-related compulsory break and, among other things, also spends his time there with golf and dog walks.
Austria's number one Dominic Thiem can see for himself at the latest in mid-June whether his father is right with his guess. Then Zverev comes across the pond and plays the Adriatic tour in the Balkans, which was launched by the world number one Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, Zverev (ATP No. 7), Thiem, the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (ATP No. 19), the Serbian Viktor Troicki (ATP No. 184) and three other as yet unnamed players from June 13th kick off without a fee until July 4th in Belgrade, Zadar, Montenegro and Banja Luka.
Djokovic series without Federer and Nadal
Roger Federer (Switzerland / ATP No. 4) and Rafael Nadal (Spain / ATP No. 2) will not be among the participants, initiator Djokovic told the Serbian media on Monday. Federer is currently recovering from a knee surgery, Nadal has just started training. Djokovic's show tournament on ashes is played in short sentences of up to four. The proceeds will go to humanitarian organizations. Which player will compete in which city is yet to be determined.
Djokovic is particularly enthusiastic about Zverev's commitment. "A really phenomenal piece of news," the Serb called it, although of course nobody could know, "how everyone is in shape. Sascha is in the USA, Dominic has done a lot of workouts, but in the end it only shows up on the pitch." According to Djokovic, he trained every day: "I have the privilege of having my own tennis facility at my house. I didn't post anything because I didn't want to provoke or envy anyone."
It is not yet clear whether spectators will be admitted to the Adriatic tour, although Djokovic hopes for it. "A lot can happen until mid-June, we still have a little time," he said. Of course, he could not yet make a binding statement, because "like everything that has to do with Corona, it also depends on the current development".