Djokovic’s Cummings moment is catastrophic
Novak Djokovic is the world’s best tennis player. Indeed, he is probably the best the game has seen. Yet his credibility as the leader of the men’s tour is shot to pieces after the catastrophe of the Adria Tour. It is the sporting equivalent of Dominic Cummings’s drive to Barnard Castle.
The news that four people involved with the exhibition event have already tested positive for Covid-19 – two leading players, plus one of their coaches and Djokovic’s fitness trainer – is the sad but predictable outcome of what can only be viewed as reckless management.
With their nightclub parties and backstage basketball games, Djokovic and his high-profile recruits – who included Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov – behaved as if they were immune to the virus.
They were pictured constantly high-fiving or embracing. They wore face masks for just one part of the two-week event – the initial player unveil. It was arrogant, short-sighted and embarrassing. The fact that Dimitrov has now tested positive, along with Borna Coric, proves the point.
During a Zoom press conference staged by the Adria Tour 11 days ago, Djokovic said: “You can criticise us and say this is maybe dangerous. But it’s not up to me to make the calls about what is right or wrong for health. We are doing what the Serbian government is telling us.”
Yet a look at the Serbian government advice, as listed on its Covid-19 online information page, raises interesting questions. The online document recommends that people “avoid hugging, cheekkissing or shaking hands with others; and keep the recommended distance of at least one metre between yourself and others”. It also suggests that you “use a face mask to cover your mouth and nose when staying indoors”.
Imagine that you had sat down With their nightclub parties and basketball games, they behaved as if they were immune at the start of the lockdown and tried to script a series of events that would damage Djokovic’s brand. Without calling on one of the career-ending scenarios (doping, match-fixing, criminal damage), you could hardly have come up with a more effective formula.
First he announced that he was an anti-vaxxer, then he started spouting pseudoscientific nonsense about the ability of positive emotions to turn polluted water into healing water.
At the start of last month, he posted a video of a training session from Marbella on Instagram, even though the Spanish government had yet to permit a return to the court. The resort that hosted the session – Puente Romano – was forced to put out an apologetic statement.
You could argue that, until this point, Djokovic’s administrative role as chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals player council was irrelevant. He was making a fool of himself in his own time. But then the US Open debate began. Presented with the idea of a tournament staged behind closed doors, Djokovic described the recommended safety protocols as “extreme” and complained about the idea of bringing just one support staff member to New York.
But when the United States Tennis Association held a 400-person conference call to discuss the issues with players, Djokovic did not participate.
Several players and administrators criticised Djokovic’s stance on the US Open. The most outspoken was Noah Rubin. “These pictures of him playing soccer have surfaced. You can make time for that but you can’t get on a Zoom call for 30 seconds?” Rubin said in his Behind the
Racquet podcast.
Djokovic became more enthusiastic about the idea of travelling to New York once the USTA had confirmed the staging of the tournament, and said that players may be accompanied by up to three team members.
But if he does show up, he will need some extraordinary on-court performances to eclipse the memory of his recent behaviour. Indeed, he may be glad media are unlikely to be admitted to the stadium. He faces some difficult questions when post-match press conferences resume.