World No 1 Djokovic to play in four “Adria Tour” events in June and July
World No 1 Novak Djokovic is set to return to action in a series of four events in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina in June and July.
Novak Djokovic
World number one Novak Djokovic will return to the court next month for a new tour in the Balkans.
The spread of coronavirus – and the subsequent suspension of the ATP Tour – means Djokovic has not played since beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
The ATP Tour will not resume until August at the earliest, but Djokovic has confirmed he will participate in a new tournament that is launching in his native Serbia. He will play in each of the four two-day events, with money raised going to a series of charities carrying out “humanitarian projects across the region”.
Dominic Thiem, the Austrian beaten by Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open in January, will also play, as will Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Viktor Troicki of Serbia, while more names are due to be announced in the coming days.
4 weekends of tennis
Matches are likely to be played behind closed doors due to Coronavirus restrictions but if fans are allowed, then tickets will be on offer.
The tournament that brings the tennis aces together!
13th June – 5th July 📅The best tennis player in the world, @DjokerNole is gathering world class tennis players who will present themselves at the regional Adria Tour event!
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Stay tuned.#AdriaTour #NovakDjokovic pic.twitter.com/1PideRiwjK— Serbia Open Official (@SerbiaOpen2022) May 22, 2020
While Djokovic will play in each event, other players will come in at various times, the reports said. Each event will have eight players, put into two round-robin groups of four.
The first event is scheduled to be held at Djokovic’s academy, TC Novak, on June 13 and 14. Then the Tour will go to Zadar in Croatia (June 20, 21), Montenegro, (June 27, 28) and to Banja Luka in Bosnia Herzegovina (July 3,4).
Djokovic will then play Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia Herzegovina in an exhibition event in Sarajevo on Sunday July 5.
- Read also our Major Feature: How fit, or not, will the players be once out of confinement?
