Novak Djokovic has recently trained on clay courts in Spain, while the courts there are not yet allowed to open by the Government.
Djokovic resists isolation order
On May 4th, Djokovic practiced with native 428 player world Carlos Carlos Gomez-Herrera at Puente Romano tennis club in Marbella, Spain. The center is run by younger brother Djokovic, Marko and his former psycho coach, Pepe Imaz.
The video was received many negative feedback, when the training on the pitch was not allowed by the Government. Spain relaxed the social gap from 4/5, but according to the Government announcement, sports centers are not allowed to open before 11/5. Therefore, athletes are only allowed to practice at home.
Djokovic may not be administratively sanctioned for violating the quarantine order, but the world number one player is definitely not allowed to continue training in Marbella before May 11. Puente Romano club also apologized to Serbian tennis player after this incident.
Djokovic carefully prepared for Roland Garros 2020
Puente Romano Center has a variety of playgrounds, helping Djokovic practice both on clay and hard courts. The Serbian tennis player chose to practice at Marbella by the remaining two Grand Slams in 2020 only two weeks apart. American Open Hard Drive Grand Slam runs from August 31 to September 13, while Roland Garros‘s clay Grand Slam kicks off on September 27.
Novak Djokovic trains on clay courts in Spain, while the courts there are not yet allowed to open by the Government.
Djokovic organizes tennis tournament in Serbia
Novak Djokovic will support fellow low-level players, by hosting tournaments in his home country Serbia.
In addition to providing financial support to organize the tournament series, Djokovic also pays attention to adhering to health safety rules during a pandemic. “Tournaments will put the health and safety of the participants first,” the world’s number one tennis player said.
When tennis was paralyzed because of Covid-19, Djokovic was one of the players interested in low-ranking colleagues – who had financial difficulties when they no longer attended tournaments. He and Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer set up a fund to raise money for about 800 low-ranking players. This fund is expected to amount to 6 million USD.
Since the idea of ​​fundraising was public, many mixed opinions appeared. Dominic Thiem, the world’s number three player, reacted most strongly and refused to raise money. Thiem was later criticized by Nick Kyrgios and Dustin Brown for this action. Lleyton Hewitt, a few days ago, raised a view that was supposed to be objective, from the perspective of a retired player.