"People hugging each other on the Adria tour, I'm so nervous as it is rather crowded"
BELGRADE -- Ben Rothenberg, an American tennis journalist, criticized the organization of the Adria Tour
Source: B92
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Foto: Srdjan Stevanovic/Starsportphoto
Adria Tour was launched in Belgrade on Friday, June 12, and the organizer is Novak Djokovic, hosting the players like Zverev, Tim, Dimitrov, and even Jelena Jankovic.
The first matches were played on Friday, the audience had a great time, but not everyone had a positive opinion about the whole event, especially the American journalist Ben Rothenberg.
"Obviously, no social distancing at the press conference. Fans courtside, no social distancing.
Different countries, different stages of the pandemic but after months of avoiding human contact like crazy, an event like this is a super jarring sight", René Denfeld said.
This was followed by Ben Rothenberg's comment:
"Watching the all the human closeness and hugging at Adria Tour, you'd almost forget why the Adria Tour exists in the first place.
Hope it goes well, but golly does seeing crowds like this make me nervous in June 2020".
Watching the all the human closeness and hugging at Adria Tour, you'd almost forget why the Adria Tour exists in the first place.
Hope it goes well, but golly does seeing crowds like this make me nervous in June 2020. https://t.co/o3deFPGkKJ
Criticism directed at Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Sasha Zverev, hadn't stopped with Ben Rothenberg, since Nick McCarvell also spoke out:
"The images coming from the Adria Cup are shocking Players are calling for safety measures at the #USOpen and saying they might not play... but are OK w/ full stadiums, a packed, close-quarters kids day, hugs, mic-sharing, selfies at an exo?
Actually can't believe what I'm seeing"
The images coming from the Adria Cup are shocking
Players are calling for safety measures at the #USOpen and saying they might not play... but are OK w/ full stadiums, a packed, close-quarters kids day, hugs, mic-sharing, selfies at an exo?
If Serbian health authorities deem crowd conditions safe then surely that's their call. But it's very 'surprising' to see recently arrived international players hugging each other/getting up close etc. while simultaneously talking up US Open fears.