Writing for the Herald Sun, the recently retired Australian minced no words in deriding the actions of Novak Djokovic at the Adria Tour. Groth said that in the aftermath of the now infamous exhibition tournament, Novak Djokovic’s position as the president of the ATP Player Council is untenable.
Groth added that while the relevant authorities were trying their best to resume professional tennis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Novak Djokovic was doing everything possible to jeopardize the return of the sport.
Sam Groth was also critical about Novak Djokovic’s absence from a Zoom call involving 400 other players. The discussion was reportedly about the sport’s safe return in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Novak Djokovic should have led by example: Sam Groth
Due to lax implementation of COVID-19 protocols at the Adria Tour, four players - Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, Viktor Troicki and Novak Djokovic himself - tested positive for the dreaded virus in Zadar. That forced the exhibition tournament to be cancelled altogether, and elicited a detailed apology from the World No. 1.
Accusing Novak Djokovic for causing a COVID-19 outbreak at his exhibition tournament, Sam Groth said that the Serb’s apology and subsequent donations to clinics do not make up for his misdeeds.
Groth particularly slammed Novak Djokovic’s reluctance to undergo a test in Zadar despite Grigor Dimitrov, one of the participants at the Adria Tour, testing positive.
Groth believes Novak Djokovic’s irresponsible actions will make it tougher for a tournament like the US Open - which is scheduled to take place in August - to implement safety protocols.
Groth further said that Novak Djokovic’s missteps are particularly damaging because of how much the other players stand to lose. The Aussie emphasized that if Djokovic misses the US Open because of what happened at the Adria Tour, it wouldn’t affect him much. But if any of the lower-ranked players are forced to skip the tournament - or if the tournament is cancelled in its entirety - it would be a big financial blow for them.
Groth also came out in support of his compatriot Nick Kyrgios, who has been pretty vocal in his criticism of Novak Djokovic. But while the 32-year-old applauded Kyrgios for speaking up for the right things, he slammed other players like Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev for their role in the Adria Tour fiasco and for not adhering to social distancing protocols.
Sam Groth drew a line between Nick Kyrgios’s behavior and what Novak Djokovic did at the Adria Tour, saying that there was no comparison between the two. The Australian said that the World No. 1 has put people’s lives and health in jeopardy, something that Kyrgios has never come close to doing.
Condemming Novak Djokovic’s actions at the Adria Tour, Groth concluded by reiterating that the Serb needs to take responsibility for the careers he has jeopardized and give up the Council Presidency.
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