A press conference, announcing Adria Tour , assured the return of tennis with exhibition match for Novak Djokovic and this time the names of some other high-ranked stars such as Dominic Thiem, Borna Coric and Marin Cilic have made fans look eager. The exhibition match will be a fundraiser for the lower-ranked players who have been severely hit due to the abandonment of tournaments.
The Adria Tour will be executed as a four-legged tour. It will take place at various locations across the region. The tour will commence in Belgrade, followed by Cilic and Coric’s home, Croatia.
The final two-legs are planned to be played at Montenegro and Bosnia, however, due to delay in the organization, there could be a possibility to change these venues. If the infrastructure is not completed in time, there could be changes, claimed Djokovic.
Exciting line up to watch
With Novak, the world no.3 Dominic Thiem will also join the tour, along with Grigor Dimitrov the world no.18. The line-up also includes Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic and Borna Coric, which are all names that tennis enthusiasts are familiar with. Whilst Cilic is 2014 U.S Open Winner, Zverev is the next-gen player engaging in phenomenal tennis showdowns.
Djokovic extended his special gratitude to Cilic and Coric at the press-conference,
“I thank Marin and Borna for joining the tour without asking for any financial compensation,”
As for himself, Djokovic surprised by announcing he had been regularly practising during the lockdown.
“Unlike many other players, I was able to train almost every day because we resided in a house with a tennis court,”
He stayed in the Spanish resort city of Marbella while foreign travel was restricted. Thus the world no.1 has been keeping his momentum in place by hitting balls regularly.
Will the big three be together?
Djokovic has been in constant touch with Rafa and Roger to extend help for the lower-ranked players. Perhaps, that made everyone excited at the high probability of their participation in the tour too.
to everyone’s dismay, Novak declared that Roger and Rafa will not be a part of the tournament. But why did he not invite Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the tournament, as the sight of the GOATs together would have made it a monumental tournament?
“Quite frankly, inviting Federer didn’t cross my mind because he is still nursing a knee injury,” he said.
“As for Nadal, I have no problem giving him a call but I wouldn’t expect him to come over.”
The Adria Tour will be the first to have the world no. 1 back in action post the lockdown. The fans have already seen the return of tennis in March and now tours with high ranked players will only provide the sport a quick return.
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