- Title: It was a mistake, says Thiem about players' behaviour at the Adria Tour
- Date: 13th July 2020
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JULY 13, 2020) (REUTERS) WORLD NUMBER THREE DOMINIC THIEM AT NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (German) WORLD NUMBER THREE, DOMINIC THIEM, SAYING: "It was naturally a mistake, you can't argue against that. We went there after lockdown and suddenly we were in a normal situation again. There were no breaking of rules, everything was permitted by the government. But still, we lost touch with reality somewhat, we saw the euphoria there, of the children and our fans. And we were fooled into forgetting the distancing rules that we should have kept at all times and of course that was a big mistake." CAMERAMAN NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (German) WORLD NUMBER THREE, DOMINIC THIEM, SAYING: "We have left this issue behind, in general. Sasha (Alexander Zverev) has his own, understandable reasons for cancelling and he has explained on social media. That should be accepted. And some opinions, especially coming from Australia, are quite superfluous, I think." THIEM SEEN ON VIEW FINDER PHOTOGRAPHER NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD NUMBER THREE, DOMINIC THIEM, SAYING: "So many rules and everything is very, very strict here, so I think everybody feels safe. And also last week, the event in Kitzbuehel, we did everything to keep it safe, to keep avoiding the risks we have nowadays, so from the safety point of view I think all measures are perfect here." JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS VARIOUS OF STEFFI GRAFF STADIUM IN BERLIN BEFORE TOURNAMENT START
- Embargoed: 27th July 2020 11:36
- Keywords: Adria tour Berlin Dominic Thiem bett1ACES spectators tennis tournament
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Sport,Tennis
- Reuters ID: LVA001CMN7KU7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: World number three Dominic Thiem is "extremely sorry" for the way players conducted themselves at Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour exhibition event after which four players tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Austrian said on Monday (July 13) in Berlin.
Images and videos of the players hugging at the net, playing basketball together and partying at the event have also been posted on social media.
Australian Open finalist Thiem played in and won the Belgrade leg, which was staged at Djokovic's tennis centre by the Danube River.
The 26-year-old, who lost to Djokovic in the Melbourne final, said he was "shocked" when he got the news from the Adria Tour. The event was called off following the second leg in Zadar, Croatia.
"It was naturally a mistake, you can't argue against that. We went there after lockdown and suddenly we were in a normal situation again. There were no breaking of rules, everything was permitted by the government. But still, we lost touch with reality somewhat."
"We saw the euphoria there, of the children and our fans. And we were fooled into forgetting the distancing rules that we should have kept at all times and of course that was a big mistake."
Though the players were not breaking government protocols during the tournament, it highlighted the risks of athletes from different countries mingling without adhering to what have become social distancing norms.
Thiem, also a two-times finalist at Roland Garros, did not play in Zadar as he had signed up to join the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, which is being held on weekends at Patrick Mouratoglou's academy in France.
(Production: Stefan Remter, Elena Gyldenkerne, Ute Swart) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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